Ennis is an unincorporated community in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. Ennis lies on U.S. Route 52, west of Switchback.
The town of Ennis was named after Joanna Ennis McQuail, wife of coal operator William Mcquail. The McQuail family owned Ennis Coal Company as well as Turkey Gap Coal Company (source, Helen McQuail, great grand daughter of William and Joanna McQuail)
Ennis Coal Company was founded in Hiawatha, West Virginia in 1914 and operated until 1936. Mining Operations were also in Ennis, WV. featuring many Ennis coal mining operations
LOOKING BACK & REMEMBERING ENNIS, WEST VIRGINIA BY: BUDDY FRENCH :
Ennis, West Virginia has an intriguing history. Most of the residents who live in or grew up in McDowell County, West Virginia are aware of the communities of Maybeury, Switchback, and Elkhorn. But if you were to ask where Ennis is, you would likely draw a blank stare. That's because Ennis, which at one time was located between the communities of Switchback and Elkhorn, no longer exists today.
**Establishment of Ennis**
Ennis was established when William H. McQuail and James McCormick opened the Turkey Gap Coal & Coke Company mining operation there in 1888. McQuail leased 877 acres in the Pocahontas No.3 coal seam, known for its rich deposits, that averaged 8' 7" in height. The mine and tipple were located just west of the community. The coal company drilled two artesian wells to supply the water needs for the mine related operations and the community. In August 1888, the Ennis post office was opened and by 1908, the mining complex had 450 employees, and the population of Ennis was expected to grow to one thousand residents.
**Community Life**
The community consisted of approximately one hundred homes, with many of them being double (duplex) type houses, and Ennis thrived during its peak years. It had a large company store and Hotel Ennis was a regular stop for N&W passenger trains. Mine operator, William McQuail, lived in Hotel Ennis during the early years of his mining operations development. Ennis had a telegraph office where Mr. Bohannan worked. The Dixie Theatre, a very popular place in town, had an exciting dance hall upstairs that was the heartbeat of the community's social scene. Residents would gather at the Dixie Theatre on Saturday nights for lively dances. Ennis community news was reported daily in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph newspaper. The following was reported by the paper on Oct. 28, 1923, for the previous day and was in the "Personals" section of the Ennis News Notes: "Samual Griffith has been quite ill for some time with tonsillitis but is out again today." "We see a good many new cars making their appearance in town. We don't know what is up." Another newspaper story reported, "On Wednesday Jan. 25, a dance will be held at the newly remodeled dancehall over the Dixie Theatre at Ennis. The High Hat Novelty Orchestra, a Pocahontas organization, has been engaged to play from 10 to 2". The roaring 1920s was living up to its name in spite of the challenges. Ennis was once a bustling town where residents showed remarkable community spirit.
Ennis High School was built in 1923, but its name was soon changed to Elkhorn District High School. In 1924, coal baron James Elwood Jones, a prominent figure and son of Jenkin Jones, helped finance a new gymnasium building and tennis court next to the high school. For the 1920's era, Elkhorn District High School was one of the most unique high schools in the state. It was reported in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph on Oct. 24, 1924, that this was the first rural school in West Virginia to have an indoor swimming pool and it was located downstairs underneath the floor of the gymnasium. There was one other unique thing about the school. It had a large two-story boarding house by the school, and it was specifically for teachers. The high school quickly became the pride of the Ennis community.
**Significant Events**
The McQuaid's were a very prominent family and well-liked in Ennis and in the coal industry. Edward McQuail, son of William McQuail, became company bookkeeper and accountant in 1893 when he was just eighteen. When his father passed away in 1913, Edward took over as President and General Manager of the Turkey Gap Coal & Coke Company at Ennis. By age 49, Edward and the McQuail family had incorporated multiple other coal companies in nearby Mercer County. The Ennis mine had been producing coal for thirty-six years. Edward was now living in Bluefield, married with seven children and he represented the unparallel success one could achieve through hard work.
On Saturday March 22, 1924, Edward had a meeting with company officers, and the topic was about shutting down his Turkey Gap mine at Ennis, because of a depressed coal market and the mines coal lease was close to depletion. On Monday March 24, Edward caught a train from Bluefield to Ennis and had lively conversations with friends on the train. After stepping off the train in Ennis, he immediately went into the company store where he spoke to his bookkeeper and instructed him to go to the basement and stoke the fire in the furnace. Edward then went to the bookkeeper's desk, removed a pistol from a drawer and went upstairs and shot himself. When the bookkeeper heard the pistol shot, he ran upstairs and found Mr. Mcquail lying on the floor dead.
The next day on March 25, 1924, the headlines in the newspaper read, " NEWS OF DEATH OF EDWARD J. MCQUAIL SHOCKS THOUSANDS IN SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA". Friends said he seemed happily married and displayed no signs of depression. Edward's McQuail's death shook those in the coal industry with disbelief and the Turkey Gap mine in Ennis was soon shut down. Many of the employees who lost their jobs were able to go to work at other nearby coal companies at Elkhorn and Switchback. Ennis had now lost its identity as being an active coal mining company town. As the years passed, the Ennis company store and Dixie Theatre were eventually abandoned and torn down. Over the ensuing years, folks still living in Ennis began moving away in search of jobs and their homes were left abandoned. Fortunately, Ennis still had its beloved Elkhorn District High School, but its name was later shortened to Elkhorn High School. The school drew students from the surrounding coal camp communities and continued to thrive through the 1930's and 1940's. But many of the homes in Ennis that had been left abandoned were now torn down. Then other area mining operations in surrounding communities began to shut down and by 1950 things were destined to change at Elkhorn High School. In 1953, due to the school's lower enrollment, the Board of Education made the decision to transfer all senior high school students, tenth through the twelfth grades, to Northfork High School in the nearby town of Northfork. The school then became Elkhorn Junior High School for students in seventh through the ninth grades. But more changes were still on the horizon for the historic school building at Ennis.
A few years later, Elkhorn Junior High School became Switchback Elementary. With the name change, both the community of Ennis and the high school had both lost their identities as this was now considered part of the Switchback community. As the years passed by, the school building was becoming in need of major repairs. In 2004, the school board made the decision to close Switchback Elementary. The former Elkhorn High School building at what was once called Ennis, is now abandoned and in danger of collapsing.
**Conclusion**
Ennis was once a bustling community with a rich history, buzzing social life, where its residents displayed a remarkable resilience. Picture
yourself in Ennis in 1920, bustling with activity. Can you imagine the excitement of the High Hat Novelty Orchestra playing at the Dixie
Theatre dance hall with dances going on until 2 A.M. in the morning? Ennis and its beloved high school may no longer exist today, but its legacy lives on through stories and photographs showing what was once a vibrant community. Lets go down memory lane where you will see
Elkhorn High School kids who grew up in Ennis and the surrounding coal camps. Through the photographs presented on linked pages below, you will go back to a bygone era where the happy faces in these pictures will never grow old.
EDWARD JOSEPH MCQUAIL. SR. - FIND-A-GRAVE
