N&W in 1911--New town

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Bluefield Daily Telegraph
September 19, 1911

CITY WILL BE BUILD
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Thriving Town Expected to Spring From Development of Big Area of Coal Land

    As a result of the recent sale of 25,000 acres of coal territory on Blackberry Creek to the United States Coal and Oil Company a new town known as "Blackberry City" will be founded.  The town is even now being built on the Tug Fork of the Big Sandy river in Mingo county on the Norfolk and Western railroad at a point about half way between Matawan and Thacker.
    A railroad has already been built down Mate Creek and work has been begun on the new government bridge across the river at Blackberry City.  It will be but a short time now until a railroad will be commenced to run up Blackberry creek and on through to the big coal fields of eastern Kentucky.
    The building of Blackberry City is but one more in the list of towns that have sprung, Phoenix like, from the wilderness in that section of the country.
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[Website information gives the current population of Blackberry City, WV as 950.  A 1930 N&W List of Coal and Coke Operations shows a short branch from the apparent location of Blackberry City serving two mines in Kentucky--nothing like the extension into the "big coal fields of eastern Kentucky" predicted by the article.]

Gordon Hamilton
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