A Tale of Two Coal Communities

 

This is a comparison study of two coal/railroad towns on the upper Potomac River, one in Maryland and one in West Virginia.  While for the most part they saw their “glory days” in the early 1900s, they came into existence in part due to a change in economic development that happened in the region in the post-Civil War period.   Both towns were pivotal to three major business sectors – coal, lumber, and the railroads.  And, both towns depended on the success of those businesses for their growth and survival.  The first town is a small community in the far west of Maryland called Kempton, while the second town is about 15 miles to the east, Bayard, WV.  Since I grew up in this region, the presence of these towns was an integral part of my own life, as I actually had relatives who lived in both during the towns’ heyday.  That being said, I will begin the story.

Beginning in the 1880s, the logging industry in particular became something that characterized this region.  Many towns sprang up where the logging camps were in close proximity, as many workers had to have places to shop and conduct personal business.  Although originally the logs that were harvested were trekked to the nearest mills, the burgeoning railroad industry came into play as the logs were later transported to the mills by train, as well as the trains bringing food to the logging camps[1].   Although railroads served an important purpose during the Civil War, it wasn’t until the 1880s when the railroads began to be constructed to serve the mining communities in the region.  Many lumber companies, however, had their own railroad lines, and these were often more limited in location although they would eventually be incorporated into the Baltimore and Ohio (B & O) system as time progressed[2].  Both Kempton and Bayard were the beneficiaries of this development.

Although Kempton was not officially incorporated until 1913 as a community by the Davis Coal and Coke Company[3], it was the site of lumber and coal camps for many years prior, as a mine operated there from at least the year 1886[4].  It was part of a mine complex that connected 6 other mining communities in the region, and much of the administrative aspects of the mining operations were maintained from an office in the nearby community of Thomas, WV.  At its peak, Kempton had a population of 650, but as the economic climate began to change after World War II, many of the original residents had moved elsewhere and the town essentially declined after 1950, when the mine was closed.  Kempton is also significant as it is only two miles from the headwaters of the Potomac River, which is delineated by the nearby Fairfax Stone Monument.  On a personal note, my late step-grandfather, Alonzo Lipscomb, was born in and grew up in this community.  Today, a couple of houses remain, and it is considered an “Upper Potomac Ghost Town” now by local historians. 

The main street in Kempton, MD, during its heyday in 1939

 

The nearby community of Bayard, in Grant County, WV, has a similar history.   Bayard is located approximately 15 miles northeast of Kempton.  It was incorporated in 1893 and took its name from a Delaware state Senator of the time, Thomas F. Bayard.  Unlike Kempton, which was almost solely based on the mining industry, Bayard also had a tannery, and as a stop on the West Virginia Central and Pittsburgh Railroad, it also benefitted from the coal industry as well as local logging.  Today, Bayard still boasts a population of approximately 250 people, and although much business in recent years has been diverted to the nearby community of Gormania, WV, Bayard still has a bank and stores[5].

 

Downtown Bayard, WV, today, with SR 93 serving as the main street.

There are a number of factors to contrast the current status of both Bayard and Kempton which takes into consideration why one is still a somewhat vibrant community while the other is more or less a settlement of a couple of houses.  As mentioned, in Bayard’s case, the diversification of business aided in the town’s survival when many of the coal mines shut down in the mid-20^th century.  Utilizing local tourism, a tannery, banking, and some other businesses, Bayard has kept a stable population while at the same time maintaining the economic base to sustain the population.  Another factor to be considered is location.  While both Bayard and Kempton are located on the Potomac River, Bayard has one advantage Kempton does not have – access to major highways.  The main entry into Kempton is a small county road that intersects US 219 to the west approximately 5 miles from the town itself, and few people other than the local population know of it.  And, despite the fact that nearby communities such as Thomas and Davis do sport local attractions (notably Blackwater Falls and the Canaan Valley Ski Resort), Kempton is still too far from the proverbial “beaten path” to be impacted positively.  In contrast, Bayard is on a major highway – SR 93 – which connects two major routes: US 50 to the north, and US 219 to the southwest.  Bayard is only 3 miles from US 50, and approximately 12 miles from US 219, and thus it also serves as a convenient connector town between the main thoroughfare that connects Washington, DC, to Ohio, and the tourist center of nearby Tucker County, WV to the south.  Added to this is Bayard’s closer proximity to the recently-constructed Corridor H, which is a freeway system built by the state of West Virginia connecting the major interstate routes, 81 and 79, and also has boosted the economy for the region.  The negative aspect of both communities though is an aging population, as many younger people from the region are seeking employment and education elsewhere (WVU in Morgantown, and the state college in nearby Frostburg, MD, as well as job markets in Cumberland, MD, and in the approximate locations of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle and the Baltimore and DC Metro areas).  This could eventually have a catastrophic impact on Bayard’s fairly consistent population in particular, and in time for Kempton it could mean a total exodus of whatever population is left.  Both communities though have the option of tapping into the revenue of adjacent communities, such as Gormania, Thomas, Davis, and further away, Oakland, MD.  With the changing economic landscape of the area though, it remains to be seen as to how these and other communities survive.

Thank you for allowing me to introduce you to some fascinating communities in the region I am originally from, and I look forward to sharing again in the future. 

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[1] Roy B. Clarkson, “Timbering and Logging,” The West Virginia Encyclopedia, Ed. Ken Sullivan (Charleston, WV:  The West Virginia Humanities Council, 2006): 706-707.

[2] Thomas W. Dixon Jr., “Railroads,” The West Virginia Encyclopedia, 597.

[3] Garrett County Historical Society, Ghost Towns of the Upper Potomac (Parsons, WV: McClain Printing, 1998): 3.

[4] Tamara Davis and Constance Lyons, “The Characterization of the Kempton Mine Complex, Maryland and West Virginia, Using GIS Technology,” https://fs.ogm.utah.gov/pub/MINES/AMR_Related/NAAMLP/GIS1/DvsLyons.pdf (Accessed November 2, 2021).

[5] https://www.riverexplorer.com/details.php?id=965 (Accessed November 3, 2021).