Coal Mines
By:Okey R. Stover
Before the completion of the Deepwater Railroad, the nearest coal mines were on Loop Creek at Oswald, Price Hill, Kilsyth, Sugar Creek, and other mines on Loop Creek. After the completion of the railroad, people with sufficient capitol began to buy the mineral and open mines on Paint Creek. The closest mine to Cirtsville was Herberton. It was owned and operated by two brothers by the name of Herbert. They were from New York and were said to be millionaires. They acquired the coal and opened their mine just above the mouth of Boyd's Branch in Fayette County. They built a nice little town with a large building for a store and office and went into the coal mining business in a big way. Most of the people of Cirtsville and surrounding communities quit farming and went to mining coal at Herberton. The Herbert's last two or three years, they grew tired of the mining business and sold out their mine, town, and the entire works.
The buyer of the Herberton mine was a company that was headed by Tom Laing. They called their company the Willis Branch Coal Company. I don't know why they chose that name. Willis Branch is a stream on the opposite side of the mountain from the Willis Branch coal mice and when people speak of Willis Branch, we don't know whether they are referring to the mine or to the creek on the other side of the mountain. However, the new company went higher on the mountain and located a seam of coal that was much larger than the seam the Herberts had mined. Tom Laing was general manager of the company and they did well for several years. The Willis Branch mine was in operation from about 1913 to 1921. That was during World War I and there was a great demand for coal so they prospered through that period but in 1921, there was a strike that lasted three or four years. These were years of strife and hatred. More shots were fired during the Willis Branch strike than were fired in the Mexican War and the war with Spain combined. Most of the shooting was just for the noise. The only casualty the miners suffered during the strike was Henry Lafferty. He was shot and killed by the Baldwin Felts guards near the company office.
Another business enterprise in Cirtsville was the Patterson General Store. About the time the Herberton mine opened up, a Mr. Patterson from Nicholas County obtained a lot across the road opposite Angle's blacksmith shop. He built a large two-storied frame building. The ground floor was used for a general store and the top story was his living apartment. His store was much nicer than either the Amos Williams or John Maynor stores but the people would not turn down their old merchants. Mr. Patterson soon gave up, closed out his business, and went back to Nicholas County. I believe that Mr. Patterson was an uncle of Governor Okey Patterson.
When the Willis Branch strike came up, the UMWA leased the Patterson building and ran a store for striking miners. A. C. Romine was manager of the union store during the strike.
At another time, I believe it was before Romine had the store in the Patterson building, there was an Italian contractor who had a contract for changing the grade of the Virginian Railroad between Cirtsville and Harper that bought the Patterson building, built a bakery adjoining it and put in a grocery store. He supplied bread and other groceries to the Italian workers and had a thriving business as long as the grade work lasted. Also, one summer Jim Hunter and his sister Lottie rented the building. Jim ran a barber shop and Lottie, a candy and tobacco store. On weekends she would get a supply of ice cream and it was a very popular place during that summer. The last person to own that building and have a business in it was Bob Stevens, a blind man. The building was torn down in 1925 to make room for the hard-surfaced road that was built at that time.
