15 Southern West Virginia Towns That Are Slowly Dying (And Why)

In 1940 about 11,000 men worked in the coal mines of Logan County, West Virginia. By 2001 that number was down to 1,146. This video counts down 15 towns in southern West Virginia that lost most of their people, and explains what happened to each one. Population figures are from US Census Bureau counts (earliest year used in the video, then the 2020 census). CHAPTERS 0:00 The coal that built these towns 1:01 #15 Pineville, Wyoming County 2:03 #14 Rainelle, Greenbrier County 3:13 #13 Gauley Bridge, Fayette County 4:45 #12 Bluefield, Mercer County 6:11 #11 Mount Hope, Fayette County 7:26 #10 Mullens, Wyoming County 8:47 #9 Montgomery, Fayette County 10:16 #8 Whitesville, Boone County 11:51 #7 Smithers, Fayette County 13:08 #6 Hinton, Summers County 14:33 #5 Williamson, Mingo County 16:16 #4 Richwood, Nicholas County 17:53 #3 Logan, Logan County 19:41 #2 War, McDowell County 21:20 #1 Anawalt, McDowell County 22:55 Final thoughts POPULATION FIGURES USED IN THE VIDEO #15 Pineville: 1,187 (1970) to 650 (2020) #14 Rainelle: 2,408 (1950) to 1,190 (2020) #13 Gauley Bridge: 1,177 (1980) to 550 (2020) #12 Bluefield: 21,506 (1950) to 9,658 (2020) #11 Mount Hope: 2,588 (1950) to 1,125 (2020) #10 Mullens: 3,544 (1960) to 1,475 (2020) #9 Montgomery: 3,484 (1950) to 1,275 (2020) #8 Whitesville: 1,017 (1950) to 361 (2020) #7 Smithers: 2,232 (1940) to 750 (2020) #6 Hinton: 6,654 (1930) to 2,250 (2020) #5 Williamson: 9,410 (1930) to 3,080 (2020) #4 Richwood: 5,720 (1930) to 1,660 (2020) #3 Logan: 5,166 (1940) to 1,440 (2020) #2 War: 3,992 (1950) to 620 (2020) #1 Anawalt: 1,777 (1920) to 200 (2020) Which town surprised you most? Tell me in the comments, and let me know where you are watching from. Photos and footage are public domain, Creative Commons or royalty free stock. Stock clips are illustrative and are not always from the town named. #westvirginia #dyingtowns #coaltowns #appalachia #forgottenplaces