A history lesson

Our tank full of gas and our stomachs satiated with a Whopper (our first since Bangkok in May), we head to the Historic Coal Trail and Bramwell, West Virginia (population of 426 at the 2000 census. From 1950 - 2000, the population of Southern West Virginia decreases by thirty percent.)

At the turn of the twentieth century, Bramwell had more millionaires than anywhere in the country, as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the coal from nearby Pochahontas mine. At its height, fourteen trains stopped at Bramwell daily to pick up coal. The janitor of Bramwell Bank would bring a wheelbarrow of cash to the train depot.

The winding, charming road to Bramwell is more picturesque than either of us imagine, with valleys and trees all around. We find some truth to John Denver's poetry: "Almost heaven, West Virginia."

We expect to find a run-down town, a victim of the resource curse, but instead find charming coal-era mansions and Victorian houses, a cute foot bridge, and a baseball diamond where the Yankees played an exhibition game. We discover this is a central location of the Hatfield and McCoy feud, and a train parked at the depot still carries coal.