Dimmock, West Virginia
From West Virginia (WV) Cyclopedia
Dimmock was a small settlement about one mile west of Thurmond, across the New River nearly opposite the mining town of Rush Run. Shirley Donnelly, local history columnist, reported that John G. Brunk opened the Dimmock mine in 1890. However we have found no records of the mine's operation prior to 1892.
It is interesting to note that Dimmock is shown on maps as early as 1874, nearly 20 years before any mining activity began in the vicinity of the Dimmock.
The name of the mine was apparently changed from Dimmock to Big Bend in about 1901. State mining records indicate the Dimmock mine was operated by the Dimmock Coal & Coke Company between 1892-1900 and by the Isabel Coal Company in 1905 -- the Big Bend mine operated by the Big Bend Coal Company between 1901-1920. (1)
A circa-1896 list of mines in the Third Mining District of West Virginia listed the Dimmock Coal & Coke Company as operating the Dimmock mine, describing it as a drift mine working the Fire Creek seam of 4 ft. 6 in. thickness. The company employed 105 workers and W. H. Thayer was superintendent. The company's post office address was Dimmock.
A 1906 C&O Railway publication listed the Isabel Coal & Coke Company as operating a mine at a station named Dimmock. In the same publication an advertisement showed the Dimmock mine as being operated by the Isabel Coal & Coke Company, with T. C. Beury, Pres., and Ernest Echols, Treasurer. The company then maintained a tipple, company store, homes for workers, and was marketed as a shipper of "a superior grade of river sand." The population of Dimmock was estimated at 49 persons in 1910 by the West Virginia Geological Survey.
A 1921 list of coal mines in West Virginia listed the Big Bend Coal as operating the Big Bend mine, with a post office address at Thurmond.
Rafter's Reference: the ruins of Dimmock are located along the railroad on river-right, downstream of Thurmond. (The ruins of Rush Run are located on river-left, just downstream of the Dimmock site.)
Sources
(1) West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, mine data tonnage reports
