History of Maybeury West Virginia

By Buddy French
Copyright © Protected

Maybeury was once considered the gateway coal camp into the billion-dollar coal fields of McDowell County West Virginia as you entered from the east. The Maybeury post office was opened on Oct. 4, 1887, in
anticipation of the railroad's arrival in 1888. The community was named for James May and William Beury, two Pennsylvania coal barons who were pioneers in Maybeury's coal industry. The name was originally spelled May-Beury but was later changed to Maybeury.

In 1888, the Norfolk Coal & Coke Company began with an initial lease of 2,497 acres. Its Norfolk No.1 lease was in the world-famous Pocahontas No.3 coal seam that ranged between eight and twelve feet thick. The mine
portal and tipple were located near the upper end of Maybeury. They were situated on the hillside above where highway route 52 is located today and adjacent to the Maybeury company store. From the tipple, down to the
N&W train trestle, there were 172 coke ovens constructed.

In 1890, the company leased an additional 1,082 acres and this became the Angle No. 3 lease. Then in 1904, a new tipple was built approximately one-half mile to the east above Maybeury. A new mine portal was opened into the Norfolk No.1 lease on the opposite hillside from the new tipple and mine portal of the Angle No. 3 coal lease. The tipple was then able to process the coal being mined from each coal lease. Also in 1904, Norfolk Coal & Coke
Company merged with Pocahontas Consolidate Company that later became Pocahontas Fuel Company.

By 1907, the new company had continued buildingmore coke ovens, with the Norfolk and Angle mines totaling 572 coke ovens.  Maybeury had become a coke oven cluttered, smoke-filled, industrial mining complex.  A line of coke ovens extended approximately two hundred yards from the original tipple site, down to the N&W railroad trestle.   In 1919, all the coke ovens were taken out of service when the steel mills began coking coal.  As those coke ovens were dismantled, the bricks were reclaimed and used to build new community housing.  As you ride through Maybeury today, you can still see many of those homes that were constructed with reclaimed bricks from those coke ovens.

The Shamokin Coal & Coke Company mine was also opened in Maybeury in 1888. It was originally located at the lower end of Maybeury and adjacent to the original N&W trestle. It leased 1,401 acres of coal and
built 200 coke ovens. In 1904, the Pocahontas Consolidate Company purchased the Shamokin Coal & Coke Company. By the 1920's, with its coke ovens no longer needed, they were also dismantled.

The Maybeury community was very well maintained by the coal company. It had close-knit, family-oriented neighborhoods where most folks knew each other and took great pride in their community. Maybeury had a
large brick elementary school, at least three churches, gas station, Community Center and a cemetery. It was a place where parents could let their young kids play unattended in the neighborhoods. And it was a time when
young girls played hopscotch on lines drawn on the sidewalk with chalk. Boys rode their bicycles and explored the surrounding mountains. Kids looked forward to the winter snowstorms when they could sleigh ride down the
street and build a bonfire to keep warm. School days at the elementary school had many special community events. And for many, there are those special memories of congregating with friends at the Maybeury Community Center on a warm summer evening.

Maybeury's Norfolk and Angle mines were worked out and shut down in 1955 although the tipple continued to process coal from area strip mines until 1958. The Norfolk/Angle coal tipple was then shut down and sat
abandoned for many years. It became a haunting reminder of the once booming and bygone era of the coal industry in Maybeury until it was dismantled in the 1970's.

Maybeury's historic life cycle as a productive coal camp began in1888 and lasted into the 1950's. By the 1890's, it had a maze of coke ovens belching fire, smoke and noxious gases. But by the 1920's and 30's, it had developed into what was considered a beautiful coal camp town for that era. Today, there are likely very few who remember those "happy days" of life in Maybeury. The days of watching the many long coal trains as they labored
upgrade across the original Maybeury trestle. Gone, are those days of seeing a freight train swiftly heading downgrade delivering goods to Northfork, Keystone and Welch. Gone are the days of hearing a steam
engine whistle echoing between the mountains. Over the sixty-plus years while its mines were producing coal, many thousands of residents lived in the greater Maybeury area. Today, only an older generation can recall those days of seeing their dad coming home from the mine in the evening carrying his lunch bucket covered with coal
dust. Although it's much smaller today, many still proudly call Maybeury home. It's no longer a coal company town, but its coal mining history is still with us in stories and photographs. So, the next time you pass through
Maybeury, take just a moment to reflect on this community's historic heritage. This was once the gateway community to the billion-dollar coal fields on McDowell County West Virginia.

Many thanks to Alex Schust and his book "Billion Dollar Coalfield"
where more information can be found on Maybeury, West Virginia.

ALEX SCHUST BOOK - "BILLION DOLLAR COAL FIELD"