Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1921-06-17
POCAHONTAS IN
THE OLDEN DAYS
Some Early History of Mining
Town Which Used to Have
the Reputation of Being
Tough"

In mentioning the family of Will
lam +. Butt in last article failce,
to say that Minnie Butt, daughter
of Mr.. and Mrs. William r.. Butt.
was the first child born in Pocnhon-
tns. She married a. b. Bowers and
now lives with her husband and chill
dren in the city of Roanoke.
One of the early arrivals i'm Poca-
/ hontas WAS John w. Owens. who
spent awhile here and left, then came
again, and perhaps again before he
finally settled down for keeps and
made his home here. He is II Leading
merchant now on Center street. Ow-
ems knows more, perhaps, about the
conditions i'll the early days of the
town than most men. He says he was
one of the boys" himself in those
days. But when he turned over Il new
leaf he staid turned, and has made
useful citizen.
William a. Lathrop was the first
superintendent of the coal company.
which was. then knows ms Southwest
Virginia Improvement Company. La
throp was then in his young DAYS
and was popular with his men. Con
ditions later developed that made il
more to his liking to leave and he
did so, There were two or three 9th
crs (his successors in the position of
supcrintcndent) who did the Same
thing. II took diplomatic nan tn
hold down the position of superiu-
tendent. This liz in the sense of the
answer made by father to his son
when tho latter asked "Pn Is II dip
lomnt II man who knows how 60 hold
his tonguc?" The father said "No
my son, Il diplomat is IA man who
knows how to hold his lob" I.athrop
left the field, but not the coal bus
mess. OF late years lc was nssocint-
cd with Col. William I.cckic. the
Lathrop Coal Company bearing his
name.
The town soon rot bad name ow-
Ing TO the coming together of such
IL cosmopolitan population. as refcrr-
ed To i'll II previous article. But there
were as many good people here, to
the square lnch perhaps than In most
towns of its size. The citizens of tho
town blamed the people who came
in here for most of the meanncss
largely true. AS dcvconmcnt con-
tinucd in the outlying districts pco-
pie Hooked in here from all points.
This was called the metropolis of the
coal fields. The town gained II "rep"
that was known far and wide. When
n friend of the writer heard of my
intention to come to pocnhonttns he
sent Il message, "If YOU have tears
Ia shed prepare to shed them now"
lie had some knowledge of the place
by hearsay, but | had not. That hear
sny was not favorable. The place was
often gricvously misrcprcsented.
found it different from the quiet.
easy going section of Ecstcrn North
Carolina, where | was reared, brt 7
found n place bustling with activity,
I'm the language of the ntrcet-a
place whore "thcre was something
doin."
The town was blessed in the early
days with some very able minister's
of the gospel. Rev. ]. Tyler Frazier
was one OF the first, If not the first
to preach the gospel in Pocahontas.
There was another brilliant Method
ist minister in the person OF Rev. +.
A. Tilly, who afterwards went ns n
missionary to Brazil. Another Met
hodist minister of prominence who
came later, and who, perhaps, did
more to evangeliZe Pocahontas than
any other minister OF his denomina-
ton was Rev. j. t. Pratcr, who is
still an active member Of tho Holston
Conference. 1t was he who is the
real author of that story told by
George Stuart so often, and for the
! benefit of the reader who does not
know what ! am referring to i will
tell the story. Rev. Mr.. Prater was
| standing on the street near the Post
Office when Il man came along pretty
well under the influence of booze
Prater admonishcd him in friendly
way to get on n bcttor road. "lIow
long you bcon OH that road?" he
asked Mr.. Prater. "Ahout ten years.
! M. Pratcr said. "Thcn" said the man
"if I had been on the road to IIcav-
en- as long as YOU have and had moi
rotten any further than POcahontas
Iii ctoDu