Gary,WV No.9 Index

Filbert is former coal town on Sandlick Creek now part of the City of Gary in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. Its post office closed in 1991.

Filbert, West Virginia Community History; By Buddy French

Development of the Filbert, West Virginia community by U. S. Coal & Coke Company, a subsidiary company of U. S. Steel, had already begun by the time the railroad reached there in the ladder half of 1908. On January 8, 1908, a post office was established, and it was named Rogers, in honor of Henry H. Rogers. Rogers financed the building of the Virginian Railway Company and was on the Board of Directors for U. S. Steel when it was formed in 1901. After Rogers died in 1909, the name was changed to Filbert, in honor William J. Filbert who was the Comptroller of United States Steel Corporation. Filbert, with its No.9 coal mine, was destined to become one of the twelve U. S. Coal & Coke Company communities with a mining complex in Gary Hollow.

Between 1910 and 1920, the infrastructure for water and electricity had been put in place. The community was built specifically for company officials, employees and their families who worked at the Gary No.9 mine complex at Filbert. A company store was erected, along with housing for employees, with neighborhood names like East Hollow, Circle, Tipple Row, Church Row, Bama Row, West Hollow and 9 Bottom to name a few. Streets were paved and the wooden sidewalks were replaced with concrete sidewalks. A community center was built that contained a theatre, bowling alley, pool hall, restaurant, barber shop and dance hall. A Clubhouse was built for boarding single miners because they did not qualify for a house.

By 1923, the population of Filbert had grown to an estimated 1,830 residents and the No.9 mine there employed 458 men. Filbert had a company doctor, an emergency hospital near the mine, at least three churches, two fraternal lodges, and white and negro grade school.

The Gary No.9 mine complex at Filbert was the life blood of the community and when coal was not needed, miners were not needed. Over the years, the Great Depression, mechanization, recessions and a reduced demand for coal saw the population of Filbert dwindle greatly. Houses sat empty and neighborhoods were abandoned. In 1960 U. S. Steel, who in 1950 had taken over operations from its subsidiary company U. S. Coal & Coke, began tearing down houses. In just a few short years, many of the Filbert neighborhoods were completely gone and only the lower end of the Filbert community homes remains today.

Many thanks to Alex Schust and his book "Gary Hollow' where this and much more information on Filbert and all the communities in Gary Hollow can be found.

( Text provided by: Buddy French )