Keystone, West Virginia

Keystone, WV (West Virginia), a community in McDowell County, was incorporated in 1909 and named for its association with the Keystone Coal & Coke Co., based in Pennsylvania, also known as the “Keystone State.” Per the 2020 census, its population was 176. It developed around coal mining in the valley of Elkhorn Creek, a tributary of the Tug Fork River.

Keystone is one of the few municipalities in West Virginia with an African American majority, with 65 percent of the residents being Black. The term “Free State of McDowell” was coined by Matthew Thomas Whittico, a local newspaper editor and community leader from Keystone in the early 20th century. Keystone possessed a unique combination of political, social, and economic characteristics that made it an attractive place for African Americans to migrate to in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

A trailhead for the Indian Ridge ATV Trails, part of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System, is located at Keystone. Elkhorn Creek, which runs through the town, is famous for its trout fishing.

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Keystone was founded in 1892 by the Keystone Coal & Coke Company and was incorporated in 1909 by the Circuit Court of McDowell County. Its name is derived from the name of the coal and coke company operating at that point. It was formerly known as “Cassville.”

On May 1, 1895, 15,000 miners (predominantly Black) associated with the United Mine Workers of America assembled in Keystone and armed themselves, planning to march across the state line into Virginia to force the Virginia miners in one bordering mine, also predominantly Black, to unionize. The governor of Virginia, Charles O’Ferrall, ordered an artillery company and six infantry companies to the border, yet West Virginia Governor William MacCorkle refused repeated requests from O’Ferrall to reciprocate.

The union action was in response to the Norfolk and Western Railroad’s effort to lower the minimum price guarantee on coal shipped to Tidewater ports. The operators reduced wages by 20 percent in response and encouraged their miners to strike. By the end of April, the mines on the West Virginia side had shut down, though a large mine across the state line in Virginia continued to operate.

The strike collapsed by the end of August. The mine workers’ union was relatively young and lacked the resources to support a strike of this magnitude. In the end, most of the mines resumed operations with mostly imported strikebreakers.

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Lodging near Keystone, West Virginia

Keystone (WV) Hotels

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Location

Keystone is located along Elkhorn Creek on highway US-52 approximately 10 miles east of Welch, West Virginia, and 20 miles northwest of Bluefield, West Virginia.

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Map of Keystone, West Virginia

[mappress mapid=”133″]

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Regional Information

Keystone is located in the Hatfield & McCoy Region in southern West Virginia.