Over the years, houses in West Virginia have been built using all sorts of materials. From animal skin to hollow tree trunks to hand-hewn logs to limestone blocks to brick and mortar — all these and more have been tried, with various degrees of success. But perhaps one of the most unique building materials of them all is coal.
Yes, you read that right: coal. Believe it or not, there are actually at least three buildings made out of coal in West Virginia.
The most well known and easily accessible is in Williamson in Mingo County. This coal house was built in 1933 using 65 tons of bituminous coal from the nearby Winifrede seam.
The idea to build the coal house came from O. W. Evans who worked for the Norfolk and Western Railroad. He wished to create a symbol of the "Billion Dollar Coalfield" centered in Williamson. The architect was Hassel T. Hicks of Welch, WV.
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The 1,600-square-foot structure is made from 65 tons of quarried, hand-sawn blocks of random size. The walls are 2 feet thick and the building has beautiful arched windows and a large entrance arch. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Today, it is the Tug Valley Chamber of Commerce visitors center and gift shop and is open to the public. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The outside walls are varnished twice a year to protect from weather. It has survived 4 floods in 1937, 1957, 1977, and 1984. At times the water reached the top of the entrance arch. After 1984, the city built a flood wall to help protect The Coal House.
Challenges to the building were not over, though, as it endured a fire in 2010 that damaged the interior. Amazingly, the building itself survived the fire!
Another point of interest associated with the property is the gravesite and statue of Chief Mingo found in the front of the building.
In White Sulfur Springs along U.S. Route 60 just east of the I-64 overpass, there are 2 more privately owned houses built of coal. The first was built in 1959 out of 30 tons of anthracite coal blocks for Tip Myles by three local men.
The coal industry is not as big in this area, so the coal used for this house was brought in from Clay County. The building has housed numerous businesses over the years, including a visitor center, a gift shop, a restaurant, and a dog grooming service.
Just behind this Coal House is a residential one-story ranch home that is also made mostly of coal. Claims are that it is the only residence built from coal in the world.
Did you know about these three unique coal houses in West Virginia? Are you aware of any others?
Coal isn’t the only native building material around — how about this famous resort, which is made completely out of native limestone? Or you can read about one of the famous West Virginia hollow tree-trunk houses we referenced earlier here.
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