ginbothams, and the Wilsons. It was named Higginbotham Summit. (History of Bluefield, West Virginia) These families allowed the Norfolk and Western Railway to lay an 80-foot track through their village. A few years later, when the railroad continued through the valuable Pocahontas Coal Field, some five hundred people settled into Summit. In 1885, when a post office was being established, some local women named it (not realizing they were naming a future city) Bluefields after the chicory flowers in bloom.On November 16, 1889, after many businesses had begun to flock to the growing town, the question of incorporating Bluefield was placed before the public. When the polls were closed, the commissioner reported that 177 votes were cast in favor of incorporation. (Rankin, 7) Soon after, the first bank, appropriately named the First National Bank, and the first standing newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, were organized. Coal was the key to Bluefields success. The area of Mercer, McDowell, Wayne, and Mingo Counties in West Virginia, and Tazewell, Buchanan, and Wise Counties in Virginia was known throughout the United States as the Great Pocahontas Coal Field. (Bluefield, West Virginia and Virginia, 13) Bluefield was the headquarters of the Pocahontas Operators Association. Mining for this all-purpose fuel provided jobs for hundreds of people. In fact, in 1932, West Virginia took the lead from Pennsylvania as the largest coal producing state and has held that honor since. In 1940, more than one-third of the states population was directly dependent on the coal industry for food and shelter. (Nelson, Interview) Despite the seemingly roseate picture painted here of the prosperity of the coal mining industry in southern West Virginia, there is the seamier side. The area has had its share of labor difficulties, stemming primarily from the fine disregard of the owners for the safety, health, social and economic welfare of its workers. (Ra...
