The Town that Coal Built William Nelson Page
William Nelson Page (January 6, 1854 - March 7, 1932) was a United States civil engineer, entrepreneur, capitalist, businessman, and industrialist. Page was one of the leading developers of West Virginia's rich bituminous coal fields in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as being deeply involved in building the infrastructure to transport the mined coal. He came to the area to help build the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and soon became involved in many coal and related enterprises in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Page often worked as manager for absentee owners, such as the British geological expert Dr. David T. Ansted, the man that the Town of Ansted is named after. The Page family lived in a large Victorian mansion built by the carpenters of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company for 28 years before leaving Ansted. The mansion, now known as the Page-Vawter House, still stands to this day and has been recently restored to its glory of olden days.
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Civic Bonds Run Deep in Ansted
Page was also a civic leader, a mayor of his hometown of Ansted, served in the local militia during the Spanish American War and later the West Virginia National Guard, and helped found a hospital in 1889. After his retirement in 1917, a ship which served the US Navy and the merchant marine during both world wars, the U.S.S. William N. Page, was named in his honor.
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Ansted's Rich History
David Thomas Ansted
In 1607 an ambitious company settled at Jamestown, Virginia. As more and more settlers settled on the coast, the cry of "on over the mountains" expressed more and more the ambition of the settlers. The rugged mountains became a barrier. Unknown to the Englishmen sticking close to the shore, a great number of bison herds had found a break in the mountains and they were beating a path through the gaps and low places through the mountains. In the summer they were thundering through the gap headed for cooler weather in the mountains and during winter they were headed back to the valleys where it was warm and food more plentiful. This path was called the Buffalo Trail.
As more and more settlers found their way across the mountains, they built cabins and began to clear the land and develop farms. The Indians began to see their hunting grounds taken over. They used this trail which was then called the Indian Trail. The settlers were harassed and murdered by the Indians in hope of
driving the settlers out from their hunting grounds.
In 1774 the hardy settlers called a meeting at Fort Union and organized a drive against the Indians. Six hundred men equipped with old mountain rifles made up a well organized army. General Andrew Lewis led this army to meet the Indians and once and for all solve the Indian problem. Matthew Arbuckle who knew
the Buffalo Trail across the mountains better than anyone else was chosen to lead this group of mountain men. They followed this trail and in 1774 they camped near the Mountain Cove Post Office. The army camped there on their march to Point Pleasant. What a sight it would have been to have seen General Lewis's army of 600 to 1000 men equipped with long mountain rifles, 500 pack horses loaded with 5400 rounds of ammunition, 108 beef cattle, walking 160 miles from Fort Union to Point Pleasant to meet the Indians and once and for all stop the rading and murdering of the settlers. Chief Cornstalk had assembled about 1000 men composed of a union army of Mingo, Delaware and Ottan tribes. They were known as North West Indians. On October 10, 1774, these two forces met and the Indians were badly beaten. This victory caused more and more settlers to cross the mountains and settle along this old Indian Trail.
A year after the last gun was fired that ended the Revolutionary War, a road was built from Warm Springs to Lewisburg. Lewisburg as a robust town that had been built up around Fort Union. In 1776, at last, this connected Warm Springs with Kanawh-3. Valley. Thi s was a rough road and was nicknamed "Shake Guts." Before
long, the salt making industry and the traveling public along with the voice of the settlers began yelling their heads off for a new road. Because of this cry, the Kanawha Turnpike was built. The old stage line was abandoned and the new road was extended from ttle valley of Virginia to the Kentucky line. This caused a new
boom in traffic. A weekly stagecoach line between Charleston and Lewisburg was started. This section of the Kanawha Turnpike took on new life. No longer was
the hoof beats of buffalo and the war hoops of Indians heard. The road became alive with activity filled from morning till night. The movement was incessant. The Bowling State and the cocky young drivers were taken down a notch when the drivers with thousands of cattle, hogs and sheep often held up traffic for hours at a time. Drummers, peddlers, senators, and all classes of people rode in the stages together. It is said that President Jackson came along this road when he traveled from his home at the Hermitage to go to Washington to serve as president. Also peddlers, beggars, poor emigrants trudged the road and scattered when coaches
of the wealthy flew by.
The conestoga wagons added to the confusion and excitement. Mountain ships they were called, all pointed like circus wagons. The harness was all studded with
brass and the horses wore rossettes and tinkling bells. The freight trains of the day were driven by men who were said to have left religion on the Blue Ridge as they
came west with their cargo of tobacco, fruits and whiskey. Good juicy plugs of tobacco from the east were in great demand. The taste of the mountain was too
refined for the home grown leaf.
When night fell, the sheep separated from the goats. The rich and those that could afford comfort of the taverns and that had sprung up along this road to take
care of travelers hastened to claim their beds. The others slept under the stars or in bars. Two rules were enforced by all the taverns: Not more than five in each
bed and no one got in bed with shoes on.
Prior to 1830, a group of religious Baptist known as spiritualists from New England seeking a quiet spot to build a colony where people could live close to God.
These people were an ambitious group of people that had a newspaper and a printing press. By acts of the Commonwealth of Virginia, begun and held at the capitol in the city of Richmond, incorporated the town of New Haven. This section where Ansted is located took the name of New Haven.
The road and stagecoach made this section into an industrial section of the county. Inns, blacksmith shops and livery stables flourished. Mail, passengers,
and produce were delivered by stage. This section became the Dodge City of the East.
But everything has its day and ceases to be. All things must end this way. And so this way of life was no exception. The rattle of stagecoaches gave way to
the whistle steam engine. The way of life in New Haven gave way to a new way of life in Ansted. New Haven and its way of life passed away. The rattle of the stagecoach was replaced by tile whistle of the railroad engine. At a celebration on the bridge at Hawks Nest, an engine from the we.st met an engine from the east. A man standing on the front end of each engine shook hands in celebration of the joining of the railroad.
David T. Ansted, a famous English geologist, came over to this section of country later known as Ansted in 1873. After making a study, he found the place rich in seven seams of coal and abundance of hardwood timber. Realizing the wealth found in these hills, he purchased large holdings of land at the price of $10 per acre.
To develop this large holding of mining wealth, Mr. Ansted and friends in England organized the Gauley-Kanawha Coal Company. This was a 100% English company with all offices in England. All business was transacted there. A Mr. Trotter, a former British Naval Officer with no business knowledge, was appointed to manage the company. The organization of the mining company had about $300,000 to spend to get the company organized.
The entire stock of $300,000 was spent on developing the property into a money making adventure. There were four miles of distance between the coal mines in Ansted and the railroad at Hawks Nest. This problem was solved by building a narrow guage railroad from the mines in Ansted to the main line of the C & 0
Railroad at Hawks Nest. The tiple was constructed at the mines, buildings erected and improvements made to the mines. With money going out and none coming in the company went broke.
The discovery of iron ore in Goshen, Virginia played a very important part in the early history of coal mining in the Ansted section. William Page, the son of Edwin Randolph Page and Olivia Page, came to this section of Virginia as a rodman on a crew of surveyors plotting the location of C & 0 Railroad. William Page had a dream. He had a vision of Ansted coal being made into coke linked to the iron works at Goshen, Virginia. He had a great economic vision of this section becoming the Pittsburgh of the south. The idea was great after much money had been spent to prepare to make coke to smelt the iron. The iron ore turned out to be an
inferior grade and the iron works at Goshen, Virginia went of of business. This caused the coal part of business much trouble. After much arguing, the company was reorganized under Mr. Page. The Hawks Nest Coal Company was organized in England and appointed an American manager, William Page. For some time, this company operated at a profit. A new manager took over and this company went broke and all assets were sold at public auction.
The Gauley Mountain Coal Company was organized with offices in New York. This company took over the assets of the old company and operated successfully from October 11, 1889 until 1956 when they shut down and sold most of the company property in Ansted to private owners. In 1890, the C & 0 completed a standard guage branch road from Hawks Nest to the mines at Ansted, a distance of 4 miles at a cost of $35,000. The road was 3.44 miles to the depot and an additional .66 miles to the mines. This information came from the C & 0 yearly report dated 1890. With the completion of tflis standard guage road, Ansted became a thriving community.
This entire section was opened up. Mail from all the post offices as far as Mount Lookout and that section of Nicholas County. All day long, wagons from miles around could be seen shipping out produce and receiving freight. Ansted became the hub around which industry was carred on. A large lumber yard was located at the railroad crossing. Large quantities of hardwood lumber was brought in from several sawmills in a radius of 50 miles and shipped allover the United States to be made into furniture or ships.
As more and more settlers found their way across the mountains, they built cabins and began to clear the land and develop farms. The Indians began to see their hunting grounds taken over. They used this trail which was then called the Indian Trail. The settlers were harassed and murdered by the Indians in hope of
driving the settlers out from their hunting grounds.
In 1774 the hardy settlers called a meeting at Fort Union and organized a drive against the Indians. Six hundred men equipped with old mountain rifles made up a well organized army. General Andrew Lewis led this army to meet the Indians and once and for all solve the Indian problem. Matthew Arbuckle who knew
the Buffalo Trail across the mountains better than anyone else was chosen to lead this group of mountain men. They followed this trail and in 1774 they camped near the Mountain Cove Post Office. The army camped there on their march to Point Pleasant. What a sight it would have been to have seen General Lewis's army of 600 to 1000 men equipped with long mountain rifles, 500 pack horses loaded with 5400 rounds of ammunition, 108 beef cattle, walking 160 miles from Fort Union to Point Pleasant to meet the Indians and once and for all stop the rading and murdering of the settlers. Chief Cornstalk had assembled about 1000 men composed of a union army of Mingo, Delaware and Ottan tribes. They were known as North West Indians. On October 10, 1774, these two forces met and the Indians were badly beaten. This victory caused more and more settlers to cross the mountains and settle along this old Indian Trail.
A year after the last gun was fired that ended the Revolutionary War, a road was built from Warm Springs to Lewisburg. Lewisburg as a robust town that had been built up around Fort Union. In 1776, at last, this connected Warm Springs with Kanawh-3. Valley. Thi s was a rough road and was nicknamed "Shake Guts." Before
long, the salt making industry and the traveling public along with the voice of the settlers began yelling their heads off for a new road. Because of this cry, the Kanawha Turnpike was built. The old stage line was abandoned and the new road was extended from ttle valley of Virginia to the Kentucky line. This caused a new
boom in traffic. A weekly stagecoach line between Charleston and Lewisburg was started. This section of the Kanawha Turnpike took on new life. No longer was
the hoof beats of buffalo and the war hoops of Indians heard. The road became alive with activity filled from morning till night. The movement was incessant. The Bowling State and the cocky young drivers were taken down a notch when the drivers with thousands of cattle, hogs and sheep often held up traffic for hours at a time. Drummers, peddlers, senators, and all classes of people rode in the stages together. It is said that President Jackson came along this road when he traveled from his home at the Hermitage to go to Washington to serve as president. Also peddlers, beggars, poor emigrants trudged the road and scattered when coaches
of the wealthy flew by.
The conestoga wagons added to the confusion and excitement. Mountain ships they were called, all pointed like circus wagons. The harness was all studded with
brass and the horses wore rossettes and tinkling bells. The freight trains of the day were driven by men who were said to have left religion on the Blue Ridge as they
came west with their cargo of tobacco, fruits and whiskey. Good juicy plugs of tobacco from the east were in great demand. The taste of the mountain was too
refined for the home grown leaf.
When night fell, the sheep separated from the goats. The rich and those that could afford comfort of the taverns and that had sprung up along this road to take
care of travelers hastened to claim their beds. The others slept under the stars or in bars. Two rules were enforced by all the taverns: Not more than five in each
bed and no one got in bed with shoes on.
Prior to 1830, a group of religious Baptist known as spiritualists from New England seeking a quiet spot to build a colony where people could live close to God.
These people were an ambitious group of people that had a newspaper and a printing press. By acts of the Commonwealth of Virginia, begun and held at the capitol in the city of Richmond, incorporated the town of New Haven. This section where Ansted is located took the name of New Haven.
The road and stagecoach made this section into an industrial section of the county. Inns, blacksmith shops and livery stables flourished. Mail, passengers,
and produce were delivered by stage. This section became the Dodge City of the East.
But everything has its day and ceases to be. All things must end this way. And so this way of life was no exception. The rattle of stagecoaches gave way to
the whistle steam engine. The way of life in New Haven gave way to a new way of life in Ansted. New Haven and its way of life passed away. The rattle of the stagecoach was replaced by tile whistle of the railroad engine. At a celebration on the bridge at Hawks Nest, an engine from the we.st met an engine from the east. A man standing on the front end of each engine shook hands in celebration of the joining of the railroad.
David T. Ansted, a famous English geologist, came over to this section of country later known as Ansted in 1873. After making a study, he found the place rich in seven seams of coal and abundance of hardwood timber. Realizing the wealth found in these hills, he purchased large holdings of land at the price of $10 per acre.
To develop this large holding of mining wealth, Mr. Ansted and friends in England organized the Gauley-Kanawha Coal Company. This was a 100% English company with all offices in England. All business was transacted there. A Mr. Trotter, a former British Naval Officer with no business knowledge, was appointed to manage the company. The organization of the mining company had about $300,000 to spend to get the company organized.
The entire stock of $300,000 was spent on developing the property into a money making adventure. There were four miles of distance between the coal mines in Ansted and the railroad at Hawks Nest. This problem was solved by building a narrow guage railroad from the mines in Ansted to the main line of the C & 0
Railroad at Hawks Nest. The tiple was constructed at the mines, buildings erected and improvements made to the mines. With money going out and none coming in the company went broke.
The discovery of iron ore in Goshen, Virginia played a very important part in the early history of coal mining in the Ansted section. William Page, the son of Edwin Randolph Page and Olivia Page, came to this section of Virginia as a rodman on a crew of surveyors plotting the location of C & 0 Railroad. William Page had a dream. He had a vision of Ansted coal being made into coke linked to the iron works at Goshen, Virginia. He had a great economic vision of this section becoming the Pittsburgh of the south. The idea was great after much money had been spent to prepare to make coke to smelt the iron. The iron ore turned out to be an
inferior grade and the iron works at Goshen, Virginia went of of business. This caused the coal part of business much trouble. After much arguing, the company was reorganized under Mr. Page. The Hawks Nest Coal Company was organized in England and appointed an American manager, William Page. For some time, this company operated at a profit. A new manager took over and this company went broke and all assets were sold at public auction.
The Gauley Mountain Coal Company was organized with offices in New York. This company took over the assets of the old company and operated successfully from October 11, 1889 until 1956 when they shut down and sold most of the company property in Ansted to private owners. In 1890, the C & 0 completed a standard guage branch road from Hawks Nest to the mines at Ansted, a distance of 4 miles at a cost of $35,000. The road was 3.44 miles to the depot and an additional .66 miles to the mines. This information came from the C & 0 yearly report dated 1890. With the completion of tflis standard guage road, Ansted became a thriving community.
This entire section was opened up. Mail from all the post offices as far as Mount Lookout and that section of Nicholas County. All day long, wagons from miles around could be seen shipping out produce and receiving freight. Ansted became the hub around which industry was carred on. A large lumber yard was located at the railroad crossing. Large quantities of hardwood lumber was brought in from several sawmills in a radius of 50 miles and shipped allover the United States to be made into furniture or ships.
A view of the trestle on the Rail Trail when the Mill was still in use.
