Exploring Appalachian Coal Mining Ghost Town & Coal Camp Near Grundy Virginia

[@raymondparsley7442]

Once... home sweet home...now just vanishing places... and empty spaces... with broken windows, open doors, falling cellings... and rotted floors... A church... just down the way... where the faithful... would go to pray.... asking the Lord... to show the way..... There it sets waiting.... for the Winter snows... the Spring thaws...the Summer days... and apple blossoms... as life finds a way... for another day.... in Jewell Valley.... Time marches on. Thanks for the tour...much appreciated my friend.

[@milagrosortiz8151]

Xq están deshabitados esos lugares

[@appalachianqueen8369]

Lived and worked in Buchanan County several years ago….Big Rock, Hurley, Slate Creek, Harman, Breaks, Grundy, Tookland, , Big Prater, Dismal, Pea Patch,Jewel Valley, Whitewood, Oakwood, Garden Creek, Drill, Fletcher’s Ridge, Bee, Council, Big Fox, Lovers Gap etc. Usually, if someone told me their last name, I knew what section of the county they lived in. Today, I can close my eyes and drive each area as if it were yesterday and remember special experiences or landmarks in each community.. Good memories

[@TennValleyGal]

I just found your channel. I'm a hillbilly born and breed and when I die I'll be hillbilly dead. My heart and soul will remain in the mountains that I love. My grandpa worked in the mines around Coeburn and Herald. hard, dirty, dangerous work. Thanks for documenting our beautiful hills and its history.

[@hillbillydan4721]

@TennValleyGal, I'm glad to see someone else wear the title "Hillbilly" with pride !! I left Eastern Kentucky 35 years ago I am currently living in middle Tennessee BUT, I do come home twice a year, Easter and Thanksgiving...got to see my Mother and sister !!! You can take a boy outa the hills but, you can never take the hills outa the boy !!! Sometimes I get so homesick I just can't stand it !!!

[@arthurbrumagem3844]

Unfortunately the term “ hillbilly “ is used in a derogatory way and the system does nothing about that . My wife’s family are West Virginians and wear that term with pride

[@johnny6175]

Thanks for the trip, I lived in Keen Mountain when I was little. The Post Master, Tom Looney gave me a five dollar gold piece and taught me to play golf.

[@mfnd502]

Love your channel. As a rust belt (Appalachia-adjacent) kid, these are familiar towns and scenes. Many towns are turning to outdoor recreation to bring some form of economy back. I hope the generations that left will start to come back and revive the region a bit. These mining families built the country and should be recognized more.

[@thetruthfornow6045]

No sense coming back without jobs being available. 21 century jobs require education or skills upgrade. Lack of education in this part of the country is forcing most companies to relocate elsewhere.

[@southerntommygun1353]

That little wave to an approaching vehicle....a true sign of southern hospitality. This is beautiful country but it seems like it would be difficult to retire to due to lack of resources. Us old folks need to be close to a decent hospital and it looks like a lot of that would take driving an hour or two to get to anything. It would be interesting if you could show these areas on a map and give some perspective on the geography. Thanks for the insights and great videos!

[@neppieb]

I was born in Grundy in 1952. My father's family made their home in Grundy for generations. Elswick, Buskirk, Williams are some of our family names. My aunt's home was flooded multiple times. Her house was next to the river/creek that flooded many times in my memory. My parents home was in Po Town. We moved to Alabama when I was 6 so my memories are few of Grundy, but I've always loved knowing I was born there. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@texaswunderkind]

Until watching these videos, it never occurred to me that the beautiful narrow mountain valleys are also a curse due to flooding.

[@dlmullins9054]

I was born in Big Rock in 1952 also. Paul Elswick was my first cousin. Is he your kin ? My family names are Rife, Mullins, Cordle etc...

[@neppieb]

@@dlmullins9054 I don't recognize that name. My great great grandfather's name was Thompson L. Elswick. My Grandmother's name was Cora Alice who married William D. Buskirk Sr. The Elswick family did come from Lick Creek (now Big Rock). Looney and Goode are also some family names. I'm sure Paul Elswick is kin somewhere down the line, since Big Rock is a link.

[@lafiammaross1267]

I had a good friend named Cody Elswick from Buchanan Co, he moved to Texas and has since passed at 26 (I think, of pneumonia) I miss my friend, and do wonder if there’s any relation.

[@mattkrea]

This is absolutely one of my favorite things to do in PA.. So many remnants of the past around coal country. This series is great.

[@MountainRoots]

Thanks for the feedback! Parts of PA are definitely in Appalachia- where would you recommend I start exploring there?

[@mattkrea]

@@MountainRoots I think really anywhere between Reading and Scranton is going to be just what you're looking for but specifically Ashland and Centralia are pretty interesting to see. Ashland is very much alive but feels frozen in time. We have very few ghost towns that I'm aware of and some of the stuff has turned into museums but it's still very neat to see (like the Eckley Miners Village just north of Jim Thorpe).

[@ScottMacDonald1]

You failed to mention, or perhaps didn’t know, that all the flooding that led to the original town of Grundy being largely removed and replaced by a mega Malwart, was pretty much caused by all the strip mining there. When you tear off the mountain tops and don’t properly fix the ruined landscape, you get uncontrolled runoff and flooding far worse than it had ever been.

[@MountainRoots]

No it's definitely a known factor that industry practices from logging, mining, etc., contribute to erosion runoff. "Unintended consequences" they claim...

[@peterwilliamson8721]

Thanks for sharing info

[@markrichards6863]

Malwart, oweee, I am going to have to remember that.

[@raymondparsley7442]

Your comments regarding flooding are right on target. I grew up beside the Tug in the small Mingo county community of Sprigg. Our property stopped at the river edge. Ordinarily a shallow calm stream, the Tug would, at times, swell into a roaring monster after the Winter snows and Spring thaws. During the 1977 flood, many years after I left home, my mother's house was swept away and subsequently replaced with a mobile home. It was the only time I know of, when the river flowed thru the east and west bound railroad tunnels (actually located in Kentucky) leading from Sprigg toward Hatfield Bottom and Matewan. Of course, Matewan and Williamson were severely flooded, prompting... the flood wall construction around both towns. People living all along the tug, suffered property losses and great hardship, during and after the flood.

[@zuzannawisniewska4464]

Thank you for introducing the history of this place....

[@karensmith1434]

I'm from Haysi, Va and now live in GA. My sister lives in Raven, VA.

[@susantjaden6443]

My Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop Bragg lived in one of those houses you show in Jewel Valley, initially up on the "hill" just past these you video. I'm not sure, but I believe that there were only 3 houses up on that "hill" then. I was just a baby to about 5 yrs old when they lived up there, in the late 60's to early 70's. Then moved into one of the houses on the road you are traveling. We used to visit every year, usually in the Summer months, until my Mom-Mom passed away. Many, Many wonderful memories of this Valley!! I miss hearing the Locomotives carrying the coal cars just behind the house! I would just stand there and listen to that awesome rumble it made as it went by! Many wonderful and kind people I have in my memories! Picking blackberries with Mr. Godwin on the side of the mountain, and even having him and his wife help pull a loose tooth out with sewing thread as a child. Love these videos! I search them all of the time because they bring back such great memories for me! Thank you!

[@MountainRoots]

That's awesome, so happy to hear the fond memories of this place 😊

[@dlmullins9054]

Thank you for another informative and well made Video. My Father also worked a long time in Jewell Valley . I grew up in Big Rock which is around 12 miles from Grundy and near the Kentucky line but still Buchanan county. On my 12'th birthday we moved North to Manassas, Va because Daddy got a job in construction where he could make about five times the money as he was making as a coal miner. His name was John Henry Mullins and although we moved, he told me one time he loved working in the mines and i knew the only reason he moved was so he could take better care of his wife and six kids. It wasn't easy growing up in the forties and fifties down home, but i loved every minute of growing up there. Daddy worked in the mines in the forties, fifties and sixties. I will always love Big Rock, though i haven't been back there in decades now.

[@playsball]

My family is from Logan County. Watching these videos is like going back to my grandparents when I was a kid. Thanks for the videos!

[@theisaaccooper2308]

As someone that lives in jewel valley, thank you for showing the natural beauty that our area has and telling the story. Also, it’s definitely haunted. Everyone here has a ghost story, probably in their own home

[@celitac.3937]

My fiance grew up there and it is beautiful.just we to his Momaws funeral last week. Lovely place

[@danielsayers5285]

I'm a resident of Tazewell Co VA. Did some years incarcerated at Keen MTN... neither here nor there, but regardless the county from all SWVA and S WV is truly God's blessing to us. Appalachians are a rare breed

[@rickeymitchell8620]

These are places most people have never seen or even heard of. I thank you for brining them to us. This a testament to the pluck and resolve of the Appalachian people. We can be a stubborn and tenacious lot. Again, thank you sir for this series.

[@TheCursedCrab]

Nice to see my hometown featured. Born and raised in Buchanan county. Moved about 9 years ago. I come home every few months to visit and it’s always such a hauntingly beautiful visit.

[@demoisellesdoggroomingparl3094]

I am loving this series you’ve started!! Such history in these mountains, hills, and hollers. The visual experience you’re providing in these videos is unreal!!! 😍

[@MountainRoots]

Thanks for the feedback, appreciate you watching!

[@alisha8461]

Thank you for shining a light on our beautiful Appalachia! It's so refreshing to see positive and professional reflection on those beautiful mountains and people. Although life has taken me to the midwest away from my home, Appalachia runs deep in my blood and watching your videos makes my heart smile. Keep up the great work!

[@MountainRoots]

Thanks I appreciate that, and really glad you enjoy the content!

[@cyjeren1627]

i love long drive, back roads and discover places and things along the way.

[@MountainRoots]

Me too!

[@ArcticHokie]

I lived and worked in Buchanan County for almost 10 years, coal mine inspector, the building at 3:28 in Keen Mtn. housed our offices. My area included Keen Mtn and Garden Creek all the way over to Honaker. My 1st two years was in Hurley, a very interesting place. I would suggest Council in Buchanan County and Haysi in Dickinson County. My Mom was born and raised in Skygusty, WV (McDowell County) the community was named after her great, great Grandfather (Capt. Henry "Old Skygusty" Harman)

[@enabledchicken7201]

What was it like living in Hurley? I’ve seen their high school but that’s it

[@davidstaudohar6733]

Root Hog or Die ridges runners, ♥️🇺🇸♥️‼️♦️♦️♦️ the red diamond carried us in the battle during the Confederacy ‼️

[@ArcticHokie]

@@enabledchicken7201 ...oh shoot this comment just showed up! My area in Hurley was Guess Fork. Nowhere to live so I lived in Vansant during my years in Hurley. It was tucked in between WV and KY. Isolated and prone to some very significant flooding. This was in the early 80's. Nice people though. My Dad's people came from over there and when the folks discovered I was kin well that was OK. 😊

[@casinokam2695]

I like how the roads in the abandoned ghost town look better than the roads in my town where new construction is always happening

[@mariemorgan7759]

The ghost towns always make me feel sad when I think about the people that lived and died there. Really beautiful country, thanks for the tour! Just subbed, great story telling and exploration!💕

[@HomesteadFresh]

So sad to see the abandonment, so much history in those old buildings. Oh... A 3 story Walmart? That's just crazy!

[@MountainRoots]

Abandonment and the aftermath of a largely extraction based economy. A lot has left the area, but folks are still calling other parts of the county home.

[@jackdamron382]

The store (small by Walmart standards) is on the third floor. The first two stories are a parking garage.

[@lora5779]

I Love hear the History!

[@folday6169]

Thanks! Reminds me of my Grandfather’s town in eastern Ohio. He was also a soft coal miner and, as I remember it, the town was moderately prosperous at the time. I can’t imagine what it looks like today, but I have fond memories of spending summers in the woods, creeks, and hills there as a child. It was there that I first learned to swim in McMahon Creek (crick), taught by other kids!

[@georgiapines7906]

Thank you so much for sharing these often overlooked parts of West Virginia with us. I greatly appreciate the honesty, the honor and dignity that you show to your state and her people. Keep up the great work!

[@MountainRoots]

You're welcome!...but it's not just WV, in this series I'll be exploring all of Appalachia 😊 Thanks for watching!

[@MyLoveIsJayBird]

This is my hometown ❤ I’m just 23 so I grew up pretty recently in these parts. I was just around 6 years old when they started the process of putting Walmart in. I was 11 when it opened.

[@lazarusmesserian8186]

My hats off to you. Nicely done my friend, nicely done and enough said!

[@tylerosborne109]

I live in Buchanan County and I work as a coal miner

[@adammatney1976]

Hody is gonna be proud to see his swinging bridge on your video! Can't wait to show him

[@garycarmelo4720]

my family is from here.priceless Grundy and Hurley

[@billie-leelawhon3941]

Absolutely the best video I have seen! Husband was the first warden at Keen Mtn. I can't believe how grundy has changed, for the best in my opinion. Flooding was a big issue when we lived out there. We lived up Vansant at Garden Creek. Sure miss that beautiful place and the wonderful people. Thank you so much!👍❤

[@MountainRoots]

Oh wow, thank you so much! I have family that also lived up at Garden Creek, until the flood of the late 50s. Small world! Thanks for watching 😁

[@scottfranson4215]

5* Video, There is So much American History . of them Mountain's . I hope it don`t fade Away . Personally I my self couldn't do coal tunnels But that not all that area is known for .Sound does make it`s way through , I`ve heard it it think it work with the air flow or moisture. I would have like to of heard the sound of that house . I`d would paint over the graffiti I wouldn't want to see it every time I pasted by. Glad to see this video Thank You for taking Us along. Blessings

[@blancacardenas840]

Wow it's looks like a Ghost Town buti it's Nice to watch never been ther thanks for sharing. From Arizona

[@MountainRoots]

Thanks for watching!

[@americanborn3151]

Grundy is where my Dad's family's from. They lived way the heck back in the mountains. The family grave yard is up in the mountains. I remember it taking all day to truck in my aunts coffin. Some parts required a backhoe the road was so bad. From there it had to be carried in. History stands still in some of these mountains

[@alysonrdiaz]

OMG!!!!! This one was insane!!!! Soooo good!! I felt like I was right there with you!!! The visuals/audio were perfect 🥹🤩🤩

[@MountainRoots]

Thanks for the feedback! I want to produce videos that really take the viewer right beside me to the places I'm exploring. Thanks for watching!

[@bryancombs9575]

Born in Richland. Went to kindergarten at vansant . Lived in grundy the first 6or 7 years of my life. My 4 older sisters went to GHS. I still remember the big golden wave painted on a cliff. Lots of memories. Thanks for the trip home. I miss it

[@MountainRoots]

You're welcome!

[@michaelnaretto3409]

Jerome, Arizona is an old copper mining town. It's fun visiting there and looking into the holes carved into the hillsides. They are gated off so you can't get into them, but it is still interesting. People do live there. About 500 of them.

[@johnlounsbury6191]

good informative narration, ive wanted come to this area to live for years

[@casvyas3532]

Personally I'm a country girl from the Shenandoah Valley, but in my 20s I moved to Richlands, Russell Co. Spent time in Jewel Ridge camp, and I came to love these good folks, Later to Grundy, and back. Loved my experience ♥️

[@houstontxdave6876]

Our ancestors lived in Tazewell, Virginia which is in the southwest part of VA. We drove all around virginia and west Virginia to find documents, cemeteries and businesses that our grandfather and great grandfather worked at. Mainly coal miners or brick makers.

[@stitch2499]

Wow. I lived in tazewell Va in the 78,79,80.. worked at the long john silvers...still trying to find some old friends there..God bless Va..

[@amandaporter620]

I love this station first time I've ever listened to it

[@MountainRoots]

Glad you're here!

[@sandydeel400]

Great job on everything. Melts my heart. Feels like I am right there with you. I think it's about time to go visit myself. Keep bringing us these awesome stories. Love, love these series you are doing.

[@MountainRoots]

Lots of places to explore! Get out & have yourself an adventure 😁

[@raymondparsley7442]

My one memory of Grundy, Virginia goes back to the early 1950s when the town had a golf course with sand-greens (most people have never heard of such). I was taken there by Dr Okey Glenn, our drug store owner and pharmacist from Williamson, in Mingo County. I had caddied for Dr. Glenn at our nine hole course (the only golf course in the county at that time) located in Sprigg, where I had lived from the age of seven. We drove over in his large 1953 Cadillac, still remember the tires would squeal in every turn, driving along the mountain roads toward Grundy. It was a beautiful drive thru the green hills... A happy face in a happy place... when I was young, and so was life, my life. Thanks for the video... thanks for the memories.

[@MountainRoots]

Love that you shared those with us, so special!!

[@jackdamron382]

That's where the coke ovens are now on Dismal Creek.

[@suefairbrass9163]

Hi from new Zealand. Really love watching your site,to be able to see the real USA.

[@MountainRoots]

As real as it gets! Thanks for watching 😊

[@wallybeep]

Geeze, You’re posts are brilliant. Superb. Thank you.

[@MountainRoots]

Thank you so much!

[@drazzle6267]

So beautiful yet so sad.🖤❤️

[@douglascasey3486]

I've walked through every one of those houses in Jewell Valley. You also look very familiar.

[@LD-jg3vq]

Great video. it makes me want to go and explore the jewel coal camp. The melodic music is weird. I'd like to see Inside some of those places and hear interviews with people who once lived there

[@MountainRoots]

That would be great to find someone to talk with who lived there. The place has been abandoned almost 40 years though, so I need to find someone in a hurry!

[@milanomaker]

I found your videos when searching for coal miners, etc. my Grandfather worked in a coal mine in Western Pa., for 45 years. The towns you’ve shown are very similar, along with the coal mining stores.

[@MountainRoots]

I will make it to PA eventually, lots of Appalachian history there! Thanks for watching ✌️

[@drewklemens4771]

Thanks for the video. I come from western PA down to Buchanan work on Keen Mtn at a small gas power plant. I usually stay in Grundy or Pounding Mills. It's a different way of life down here but beautiful.👍

[@judyingram-kh1vm]

Great story, thank you for sharing this with us ❤

[@MeMyselfAndUs903]

MY MEMORABLE VISIT TO A TRUE GHOST TOWN (year 2000?]: I will never forget, when sometime around the year 2000, I was introduced to “the ghost town” in Jewell Valley by my husband’s father whose family worked in the mine and lived in that mining town. I grew up in a big city and was enthralled by everything I saw…truly a ghost town! The mine was still visible in all its ghostly crowning glory. All the houses were still standing one after the other along the road. I remember that in between some of the homes there were brick furnaces which provided the heat for the stretch of homes between the furnaces. The mine workers’ homes were a standard, common build: white ranch homes with a porch. The condition of the homes were mostly just overgrown (MUCH BETTER than your video depicts). I wanted so badly to go inside the vacant homes, but I preferred to let any snakes be undisturbed. Then, there were the larger managers’ homes scattered along various elevations on Brown Mountain (a.k.a Bearwallow) . I saw the company store which, for me, had an interesting story….The miners’ only access to purchasing market goods was the mining company’s store, and the purchases were deducted from the miners’ pay (now, THAT is what is called a true monopoly). My adventure through Jewell Valley included a personalized tour with my husband conducted by my husband’s parents. We were in Jewell Valley visiting with his kin and the last remaining family in Jewell Valley (the Hackworths). Then, in 2022, the devastating flood buried Jewell Valley and my husband’s 2 family members who were trapped because the access to the ghost town of Jewell Valley was inaccessible. One of the homes was an original mining company home and the other was a manufactured home next door. Nearby family members successfully trecked their way in to save those two family members. The manufactured home actually floated down the flood. Those last remaining cousins now live with other family. I feel so fortunate to have found your video. I think I have video of Jewell Valley when I was there sometime in the year 2000.

[@tomholschbach5966]

I have family in Grundy, Dismal, and Oakwood. Had a few uncles and cousins that worked at Jewell Smokless😎🇺🇸

[@lisaking8187]

We have a lot of abandoned coal town's in southeastern Kentucky. we also have a lot of old abandoned home's also people die off and leave them and their families must not want to live in them. It's sad.

[@redshorse]

Interesting and well narrated.

[@andyliptak251]

Thanks!

[@MountainRoots]

For some reason your donation was filtered out to where I couldn't see it until now, but I wanted to personally thank you for it

[@jimmer12911]

I was born in Boomer WV in the 60’s. We moved to Florida when I was an infant. I remember my childhood summers in the 1970’s when Mama and PaPa would visit us in Florida. They would always take my sister and I back to WV with them to spend the summer. We would stop at MaMas sisters house in Cabin Creek VA. The memory I recall the most was their outhouse and how frightened we were to use it.

[@MountainRoots]

Did they have the old catalogs in their outhouses? Many would use old Montgomery Ward and other such catalogs for TP.

[@texaswunderkind]

@@MountainRoots That's what my parents did growing up on Nebraska farms. Thank goodness for the Sears catalog.

[@debbiephilbrick2628]

BEAUTIFUL in the 70s

[@MeMyselfAndUs903]

That school bus belongs to my husband’s family. They used it for hunting. The sounds you heard were probably from my husband’s family who were the last remaining Jewell Valley occupants from the mining days. Because his family owned their own well, they were not evicted by the mining company. But everyone else left and Jewell Valley ghost town was named. My husband’s family worked in that mine, and his Grandfather White and Uncle White lost their lives in that mine. The mine owned all the homes, and upon the mine’s closure, all the residents were evicted unless the resident owned their own well. And that is how my husband’s family remained in their home after everyone else left and it became a ghost town.

[@GrowinwithAJ]

I’m from Hurley Virginia and its still 20 years behind from where i live now in Oklahoma

[@virginiawallhangers1743]

Buchanan county born and bred lived in Grundy and Hurley all of my life

[@randyjustin6534]

Some of my family live in Grundy My Grandfather and Dad worked there

[@jeanlawson9133]

I am from Tazwell county Virginia Mill Creek Holler 😎.... went to school in Richland's Virginia.... Always my Heart is There....

[@proberts4243]

I’m from Richlands. Mom and dad went to Richlands High School. Dad graduated in 1971. His dad, whom I’m named after, was murdered in 1956 when my dad was only four yrs old. The case was never solved. Grew up going to church in Raven, VA at BWC In Jesus Name. Kin folk are the Roberts’, Breedlove’s,Casey’s, Shorts’ and Stevensons’

[@proberts4243]

Family had a little piece of land in Red Ash, right over the hillside, it was pretty much a slate dump but it was enough to sustain.

[@proberts4243]

Singleton Funeral Home in Cedar Bluff has handled almost all the funerals for my family members that have passed on.

[@kitkatcats3360]

Very wise final statement.

[@playeah1]

i have never been overseas and the landscape is like those wrong turn movie series. thanks

[@MountainRoots]

You're welcome!

[@HaveKayaksWillTravel]

I could tell by the intro, I needed to subscribe. I'm here for the ride.

[@ashleywhite6820]

Amazing work. Love the history

[@Joe-wo7rg]

My mom was born and raised in WV. She had Appalachian pride.

[@SharonG-ip3ll]

One of my uncles taught history and geography at Hurley High School in Buchanan county.

[@ninjasquirrelballlongballv7346]

The original coal tipple / prep plant, church, & company store were all torn down when Jewell Smokeless bought the property and put 2 mines in. They've since sold out. I explored this whole area thoroughly before Jewell purchased and tore everything down. It was quite an amazing site, but lots of very weird things happening. That has all calmed since the removal of the above mentioned structures. Great vid thanks for sharing.

[@MountainRoots]

Thanks for the comment, appreciate you watching!

[@glendavansickle7592]

Worked and stayed in Grundy. Penn Line installed the guardrail on the new road through town. Installed guardrail when the town was being remodeled too. Our company also did some seeding and mulching there too. Stayed in the older motel on the left coming into town. Ate at the pancake house / diner on the right in town .

[@Bluefish-LM]

Awesome video, Ty for sharing with us.

[@gailspaw5521]

Love watching n Sup from Kentucky

[@stantheman9072]

Outstanding work. Also really familiar as I am from southeastern KY, about 75 miles from Grundy, with a very similar landscape, culture and history. Lots of coal camps still stand but others are long gone and driving up those old roads you wonder how all those people managed to live and work there all that time. It’s all so different it’s hard to even imagine in some cases. I have heard about Grundy for years but never made it into Buchanan County. The father of my best friend in high school was from Grundy and had been a kid there in the 30s. He ran an insurance agency in southwest Virginia’s New River Valley area for decades. His son, my friend, wound up working in military and then commercial satellite engineering. Homer Hickam wasn’t the only “rocket boy” story to come from Appalachia.

[@gunsmyth4533]

Bell County Ky here!

[@Userprofilename]

Hello from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Grayson County Virginia 5 min from the North Carolina line.

[@Timm_W_h_i_t_e]

Oh crap, the first place I ever seen a ghost. His name was Dirty and he was a miner that was killed in the mines there!!! Wow, did you go over Jewell Ridge?

[@MountainRoots]

Sure did!

[@Timm_W_h_i_t_e]

@MountainRoots I'm originally from Richlands va, right over the mountain. We used to got to Jewel Valley on Halloween night when I was in H.S. That place is definitely different.

[@proberts4243]

@@Timm_W_h_i_t_e Richlands native here as well. Family roots run deep in that area. Home place the family had was in Red Ash. Right over the hillside. My grandfather was murdered in 1956 in Richlands. Case was never solved.

[@crash_davis]

This series is very interesting. I hope you continue with it 😎

[@johnnyboy337]

That's where I live in Buchanan county in Grundy that's how our life was it breaks my heart to know about everything is all gone

[@robertcoleman2748]

Heading to Buchanan County today. Haven't been home in years.

[@Betriska]

Love this series, Josh. Great job!

[@MountainRoots]

Hey Betty, thank you!

[@jdhinckley1954]

I love your narratives. WVA & VA are pretty different then Northern New England, but there are some things that look familiar to me. Thanks for sharing.

[@marcymoore7866]

I grew not far from there. Craig Co or some still call it New Castle Va. I love hearing and seeing history.

[@MountainRoots]

This is almost 3 hours from Craig County Virginia, it's the Grundy VA area of Buchanan County.

[@Steve-Duh-Rino]

Interesting history of Buchanan County coal mining yet I find a 3-story Wal-Mart every bit as colorful!

[@MountainRoots]

😉

[@Sinstar33]

I just moved to Grundy and I know that whistle you’re talking about. We hear it out in the woods all the time. Doesn’t really freak me out, I grew up in a very haunted area of New England where paranormal activity is just the norm.

[@robertboyd3429]

One place I never feel uncomfortable being anywhere or going anywhere, and that's West VA, because this is my homplace.

[@robertsmithUH60driver]

Been to Grundy years ago. Im from Giles co VA. Cool story.

[@lostonwallace1396]

Interesting video. I'm from Clintwood in Dickenson County Va, which is right next to Buchanan County. Some crazy coal history in both counties.

[@WitherTV]

I was born into grundy. I remember a time before they added a two story Walmart and a food city my papa would go to.

[@sheliamoran2702]

I grew up in Lewis co west virginia. I will always call WV home. Buckhanmon is located in Upshur Co. No disrespect meant. Love watching.

[@carolynmckinney3621]

I miss my family in west Virginia.

[@bradmiller9993]

If you are looking at a (non topo) map, and trying to get to Marion/Wytheville from the Ohio area, you might look at Grundy and see it as a shortcut, like I did forty years ago, dragging a travel trailer from Seattle to start a new life in Appalachia. ( don't ask.) I don't know if the coal trucks that run down that mountain still do that at Nascar speeds, or if the roads are better than they were then, or if negotiating those hairpin turns in the winter with barely adequate brakes is any better now, but I will tell you this: I will never forget Grundy.

[@MountainRoots]

What an introduction 😆😉

[@debramullinsmilliganma4096]

My family is from Clintwood, Va. I miss it there.

[@mountainstatearmory9867]

Truly enjoy these videos. I live northern WV very close to the Pa line!

[@johnd5244]

Thank you for sharing!

[@magn630]

Thank you so much for this series - enjoying each and every episode. Ghost towns exist all over the world, so why not here, right?

[@TheOldSwedesFarm]

Great history and beautiful video! Cheers!

[@MountainRoots]

Thank you!

[@martinmartin4751]

My Great Grandparents grew up in Grundy. Their last name was Ratliff. Thanks for the video . Some day I wanna come see Grundy. Apparently I have ancestors buries there.

[@altheabarnett4197]

I have 2 aunts that married 2 Ratliff brothers from Grundy. And, the Ratliffs had McCoy members in their family.

[@tooge47]

for DECADES, I have been drinking out of that EXACT SAME blue lid bottle while working outdoors !!

[@MountainRoots]

It's a good bottle!