In the early 1880s, iron pyrite or “fool’s gold,” was discovered in the Quantico Creek and led to the opening of the Cabin Branch Pyrite Mine in 1889.  At the time, with industry rapidly expanding, the sulfur found in pyrite was important for products such as gunpowder, dyes, glass, and soap.

Most of the mine workers came from the nearby towns of Hickory Ridge and Batestown, Virginia.  Others came from Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  While some lived in dormitories in the company town, local inhabitants walked through farms and woods to get to the mine. African Americans and whites shared a workplace in an era when whites and blacks could and did not socialize , or be in the same public place..More...

Drill Bit [a href="PyriteMineObjects/PRWI536_drillBits.html" target="_blank"]
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Drill Bit
Coupon Book [a href="PyriteMineObjects/PRWI688_coupon.html" target="_blank"]
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Coupon Book
The Mine in Operation [a href="PyriteMineObjects/PRWI632_photo.html" target="_blank"]
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The Mine in Operation
Unsightly and Abandoned [a href="PyriteMineObjects/PRWI1031_photo.html" target="_blank"]
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Unsightly and Abandoned
Map of Cabin Branch Mine [a href="PyriteMineObjects/PRWI2167_map.html" target="_blank"]
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Map of Cabin Branch Mine
Related Links
Cabin Branch
Pyrite Mine