Thurmond, West Virginia

A community in Fayette County, Thurmond, WV, was incorporated January 1, 1900, and was named for Captain W.D. Thurmond (CSA), who owned the land upon which the town is located. Thurmond today is among the most visited locations within the New River Gorge National River. The town stands at the foot of Beury Mountain along the east wall of the New River Gorge.

Thurmond was one of only two major shipping points that developed in the New River Gorge during the coal boom. The other was Quinnimont. By the early 1900s, hundreds of railroad cars of smokeless coal were being shipped through the town daily from several nearby branch lines. Thurmond produced more freight revenue for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway (C&O) than did the much-larger cities of Cincinnati, OH, Richmond, VA, or Charleston, WV. From Thurmond in 1910, 76,541 passengers boarded trains, and 4,283,641 tons of freight were shipped, which amounted to almost one-fifth of the revenue for the entire C&O for that year.

Although Thurmond's business district was tiny, by 1910 Thurmond had two banks, two hotels, two dry goods stores, several groceries, a drug store, a jewerly store, a wholesale meat house, several coal company offices, a dentist, a doctor, a school house, and a church. In 1920, the town's population was 285. Captain H. W. Doolittle, a conductor on the C&O, wrote a poem about Thurmond during its heyday.

Today, the Thurmond Depot (http://www.wvrailroads.net/index.php/Thurmond_Depot_-_The_Museum), a two-story wood-frame structure from 1905, still serves as as "flagstop" for Amtrak trains, and after being painstakingly restored, the historic depot serves as a visitors center and museum.

Photos

Thurmond, WV (http://www.wvepostcards.com/thurmond/)

Thurmond, WV Railroad Photos (http://www.wvepostcards.com/railroads-thurmond/)

Thurmond Coaling Station (http://www.wvepostcards.com/railroads-thurmond-coaling-station/)

Thurmond Depot (http://www.wvepostcards.com/railroads-thurmond-depot/)

Thurmond, WV Railroad Structures (http://gallery.wvrailroads.net/Thurmond-WV-Structures)

Thurmond Depot and Museum (http://gallery.wvrailroads.net/Thurmond-Depot-and-Museum)

Recreation

Hiking trails (http://www.newriverwv.com/Recreation_Hiking_Trails_Near_Thurmond.php) and biking trails (http://www.newriverwv.com/Recreation_Biking.php) near Thurmond, WV

Fishing spots near Thurmond: Stone Cliff (http://www.newriverwv.com/Recreation_Fishing_Stone_Cliff.php) (float fishing) : Dunloup Creek (http://www.newriverwv.com/Recreation_Fishing_Dunloup_Creek.php) (trout fishing)

Amtrak train passes surviving buildings in Thurmond, WV

Thurmond Depot and RR Bridge across New River

CSX coal train races past coaling tower in Thurmond

(http://www.wvamaps.com/maps/index.php?place=Thurmond&state=WV&pop=7&county=Fayette&lat=37.9614&lon=-81.0825&elev=1080)
Map of Thurmond, WV (http://www.wvamaps.com/maps/index.php?place=Thurmond&state=WV&pop=7&county=Fayette&lat=37.9614&lon=-81.0825&elev=1080) showing streets, airports, parks, buildings, churches, cemeteries, trails and other points of interest, with link to driving directions.

Top map (http://www.wvexp.com/Topo_Maps_WV/index.php?title=Thurmond&lat=37.9614&lon=-81.0825) of Thurmond, WV and vicinity

(http://www.wvrailroads.net/index.php/Category:Scale_Drawings:_Thurmond)
Scale drawings (http://www.wvrailroads.net/index.php/Category:Scale_Drawings:_Thurmond) of Thurmond railroad structures and buildings

(http://www.wvrailroads.net/index.php/Thurmond_Depot_-_The_Museum)

Census Data

Population: 7 (2000 Census)

Geodata

Elevation: 1080 feet
Longitude: -81.0825
Latitude: 37.9614