St. Albans, West Virginia
From West Virginia (WV) Cyclopedia
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A community in Kanawha County, Saint Albans, WV (map (http://www.wvamaps.com/index.php/?place=Saint%20Albans&state=wv&lat=38.3856&lon=-81.8364&elev=590&pop=11567)) was laid out in 1816, and is near the location of Fort Tackett, built in 1786. Originally know as Philippi, after Philip Thompson, an early settler, the name afterwards being changed to Coalsmouth from its location at mouth of Coal River. Incorporated as Kanawha City in 1868, the town's name was changed to St. Albans in 1871, that name being suggested by a man named Parsons, a member of the town council, after his home town of St. Albans, Vermont.
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Development of St. Albans, WV
In 1871, at present-day St. Albans, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O), constructed a saw mill to cut lumber for the building of its railroad line through West Virginia. This in turn attracted additional mills and factories to the location, turning St. Albans a prosperous "lumber town." Several large timber companies soon located up Coal River, rafting logs downstream to the mills at St. Albans.
The growth of St. Albans was retarded for some time by the policy of the Central Land Company which, although it held lands at St. Albans, devoted all its attention to the development of Huntington. Later the preparation for a greater city was made by Grant Hall, who, after purchasing the lands of the Central Land Company, graded the streets and laid cement walks.
In 1900 contracts were made for the construction of the Kanawha, Pocahontas, and Coal River Railway along Coal River. The charter, granted in 1896, provided for a route via the junction of Marsh and Clear forks, thence via Marsh Fork to the Norfolk and Western Railroad (http://www.wvrailroads.net/index.php/Norfolk_%26_Western_Railway) (N&W) in Mercer County. The road was constructed from St. Albans through Boone, and into Lincoln County, in 1905-07.
Variant Name(s)
Coals Mouth, Coalsmouth, Cole's Mouth, Kanawha City, Philippi, St. Albans
