Bluefield evening leader. [volume] (Bluefield, W. Va.) 1906-1911, 1907-09-17
AN EXTENDED
CONFEDERATION
COAL MINE HAS BEEN BURNING
FOR UPWARDS OF 10 YEARS

FOR UPWARDS OF 10 YEARS
Charleston. W Va. Sept. l6.-on
Paint creek. about 20 miles above
this city. near the station at stan
dard. a coalmine FIRE is raging
fire about the origin OF which an In
terestlng romance is woven. At
night the mountainslde in which the
mine is located is ablaze with a
weird play OF light: by day a column
OF smoke ascends like monument.
In truth. the mountain is aire. an
unquenchable fire. as those who have
already lost $4,000 in a vain at
tempt to smother IL viii testify.
In the late fftles OF the last CEN
ury the Kanawha Coal and Oil
Company was organized for the pur-
pose OF producing oil from canal
coal found in the mountains divided
by Paint creek. The vein located
was a comparatively thin one. lying
IN the heart OF a thick seam of the
bituminous coal. The company was
busy with its operations when the
CiVil War broke out. but continued
al work for some time thereafter
The superintendent was a blunt
old Englishman named Gordon. who
had handsome daughter. Rowena.
who was the delight of her fathers
heart and the despair of the young
men of the neighborhood There
was the usual counting and flirting.
with the usual final selection of one
man and the inevitable preparations
for the wedding. The lucky man was
one Adkins, a native Of the noun
tains. a strapping young fellow. who
had won the fathers favor as
workman even before he won the
daughters esteem as a lover. Tins
the course of true love seemed to
run smooth.
but the war came and the Paint
creek section was as badly torn by
opposing factions as any other small
part of the entire country. The ma
tives were of the south. while most
of those who had come to work in
the mines were Union men. OF the
latter was old man Gordon. while
Adkins was a regular fire-eating son
of Dixie
After several stormy interviews
Adkins was forbidden 10 enter the
Gordon home, and Rowena was or
dered not to see him. He enlisted
in the Confederate army and
marched out with Wise on his IA
nous retreat up the valley. This
was in the spring of 1861 In the
autumn he returned home on a fur
lough and, sought to renew amicable
relations with the Gordons, but was
repulsed b. both father and daugh-
ter. 1t is said that in spirit of
revenge he set fire 20 the drum
house at the mouth of the mine. The
fire was communicated TO the rich
vein OF canal coal inside, and. OBJ
tanning a good hold has been burn
ing ever since.
Adkins returned TO his regiment
and was killed in battle. The Cor
dons left the country soon after, and
their subsequent history is not
known here.
That is the romantic version. The
prosaic one is that fire was com
municated to the mine by a forest
fire that ragged furiously in October.
1861. Certain it is that the mine
began to burn at that time and has
been burning since.
In the late eighties company was
formed by Charleston men to ex-
tinguish the fire and reopen the mine
but after spending $4,000 in a vain
attempt the enterprise was aban-
doned. 1t is probable that the fire
will be above dto burn until the
entire vein of coal is consumed.
often, for years at time, the
fire cannot be seen. but there is al
ways something about the locality to
bear witness to- its presence. Some
times it is smoke. sometimes steam.
in wet weather there is always
vapor rising from above the mine.
fp winter snow melts as rapidly as
it falls ON the particular spot. while
the ground around is white In the
spring vegetation appears earlier
where the earth is warm from this
underlying heat OF late it has been
burning yisibly al night the extent
being perhaps q hundred yards along
the face of The mountain