Thurmond, West Virginia, located in Fayette County, went from a prosperous small town to a near-ghost town with just five inhabitants. The town’s story and its remarkably well-preserved buildings will make you want to take a stroll through it…just don’t look for a street or sidewalks to stroll down, because time has taken its toll on this once-bustling town.

Thurmond, West Virginia, in the New River Gorge, was once a thriving train town. In coal mining's heyday, it had many prosperous businesses and facilities for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad.
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Businesses crowded the town to provide services for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, which ran right through Thurmond.
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Nowadays, though, it’s nearly a ghost town. Much of it it is owned by the National Park Service as part of the New River Gorge National River.
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In the 2021 census, Thurmond had three residents, down from five since 2010.
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As you would expect, there are reports that Thurmond is haunted, though we couldn’t find any specific ghost stories. However, some reports suggest that a “strange presence” seems to follow you here.
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In its prime - around 1930 - the town boasted a population of nearly 500.
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There were two hotels, two banks, a train depot, a post office, and a small but thriving commercial district.
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The more famous of the two hotels, the Dun Glen, became nationally recognized in its day and was the site of what Ripley's Believe it or Not called the world's longest-lasting poker game. It went steady for 14 years.
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The Dun Glen burned down in 1930, an event that most people believe directly led to the swift decline of the town. The population steadily and rapidly declined and never bounced back.
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One of the town's oddest features is its lack of a road to the commercial district. The railroad tracks are separated from the town's buildings by a few scant yards of empty ground. The town was only accessible by railroad until 1921.
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Eventually, a road was built that crossed over the New River (which runs directly across the tracks from the town) and behind the town.
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Today, the train depot is used as a visitor's center for the New River Gorge National River. The entire town, including a part of the opposite riverbank, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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You may even recognize Thurmond from the 1987 movie Matewan, which was shot in Thurmond thanks to its barely-changed appearance of a 1920s coal town.

Like many old train towns, as technology advanced and our dependency on the railroad declined, Thurmond succumbed to the passing of time. Thurmond’s fascinating history will be preserved only through the passing on of stories and experiences. Have you ever explored the almost-abandoned Thurmond, West Virginia ghost town? What did you experience there? Do you think it’s haunted? Let us know in the comments.

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More abandoned towns like the Thurmond ghost town

Chris Muras | December 29, 2022

Why is Thurmond West Virginia abandoned?

Many small towns are kept alive because they have one thriving business or industry. Such is the case with Thurmond. After the locomotive industry switched to diesel trains, Thurmond's steam locomotives were fazed out. The Great Depression also took its toll, killing off one of the two banks in town, and the other moved away. Then the fires hit, wiping out many other businesses that helped the town get by.

Are there any ghost towns in West Virginia?

West Virginia, like many other states, has old towns that haven't survived for one reason or another. Whether you consider these ghost towns or simply neglected and abandoned towns, the feeling is the same. They feel like ghost towns, whether they are believed to actually be haunted or not. Here are some other ghost towns in West Virginia:

1. Royal, WV
2. Nuttallburg, WV
3. Thurmond, WV
4. Gad, WV
5. Kaymoor, WV
6. Kayford, WV
7. Sewell, WV
8. Spruce, WV

How many abandoned towns are in West Virginia?

There are more than 65 abandoned towns in West Virginia. Many of these abandoned towns have stories and legends about tragic events or mysterious occurrences that lead some to believe they are haunted. Whether or not they are actually inhabited by ghostly prior residents, it has led to a booming haunted tour industry in many parts of West Virginia. Check out these six haunted houses in West Virginia:

1. The Haunted Barn in Charleston
2. Miller's Nightmare Haunted Farm
3. Greyskull Manor in Clarksburg
4. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum
5. Haunted theatre at the Apollo Civic Theatre in Martinsburg
6. The West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville

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