Cattle Drives to Coal Cars: Norfolk & Western and the New South Industrialization of Tazewell County, Virginia, 1880-1930

Addressing the impact of the New South gospel of industrialization on Tazewell County, Virginia, this research seeks to examine the county’s shift from a primarily agricultural, barter economy prior to 1880 to one of both industry and agriculture by 1930. It traces Virginia’s early railroads and coal mines, following the creation and collapse of the Atlantic, Mississippi & Ohio Railroad and subsequent birth of the Norfolk & Western Railroad, and details early geographic studies indicating the presence of coal in Southwest Virginia’s mountains. Tazewell County became the gateway to the rich Pocahontas coal fields of West Virginia with the boom town of Pocahontas, and the construction of the Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Division connected the line with western markets while also opening Tazewell County’s possibilities for growth and industry. Towns such as Pocahontas, Bluefield, Graham, and Richlands were birthed out of this growth, while the county seat of Tazewell – originally called Jeffersonville – benefitted from the presence of the railroad as well. By the end of industrialization, however, Tazewell County still retained its agricultural roots while also featuring successful coal mines.