COAL HERITAGE
TRAIL OF NEW COMMERCE INITIATIVE
Approaching Beckley traveling southward exit on
Robert C Byrd Drive (Rt. 16) southbound and you are on the Coal Heritage
Trail of New Commerce. Families
living along the CHTNC have taken on the task of building a new economy. Although most of the coal camps have
disappeared or have been grossly modified one can tell from the photographs
a once clean and prosperous industry existed in the hollows of the
Appalachian coalfields. Many families
now living in the coalfields must return to the lifestyle that supported
their ancestors and couple that with the culture that was spawned by the
coal industry to find new and sustainable ways to support themselves. Above
sites are now in place or under study to entice tourists traveling I 77
& I 64 to detour onto the Coal Heritage Trail for a scenic tour and
purchase crafts and specialty farm products.
