Kaymoor: Living in Kaymoor

 

Kaymoor headhouse area circa 1920's

The town of Kaymoor consisted of three distinct levels. Kaymoor Top and provided housing and a company store for miners and their families. The bench level is the location of the coal seam and the mining operation. Kaymoor Bottom provided more housing, company store, the schools, churches, and the processing plant to sort and load coal onto incoming train cars. The three town sections were connected by a rail system known as a haulage.

 

The incline at Kaymoor was 2,200 feet, extending from Kaymoor Top to Kaymoor Bottom. The Hoist House was a large brick building that housed all the hoist equipment (Burgess 1983). There was also a staircase for people who either did not want to ride the haulage or the haulage was not operating.

 

Kaymoor haulage car 1920

The haulage system to transport people up and down the hill from the top and bottom ran about every hour for non-miner residents. During the week, the miners would be hauled up and down, and regular people could not ride the haulage during that time. During the week, there were trips at 10,2, and 6 for private citizens, called the passenger trip. The other hours of the day were for miners. There was a trip every hour on the weekends. Company men, such as outside foremen or the superintendent, would have their special button to call the haulage whenever they needed it. (OH 279) The haulage building had a large wheel and rope to control the system. The rope would unwind and lower the cars, and it was replaced about once a month. The cars held about 18 people (Dempsey 105). A typical hoistman’s shift was from 6 am to 4 pm. The Haulage house was relatively close to the housing at Kaymoor 2 top, so the men would not have to walk very far for their shift. If they forgot their lunch, their wives or children could easily bring it to them (Pashion 1985).

 

People in hauler car at Kaymoor

 

Automobiles and roads were not yet the common sites we see today when Kaymoor was first established in 1900. The main methods of transportation were walking or riding a train. Because of this, most of the employees of Kaymoor and other mining communities would have lived within walking distance to the mine. You did not have to live in the associated community to work at that mine, and men that lived too far to travel back and forth to work everyday would stay in the boarding house. This building, also known as the clubhouse, would provide single men or commuters a place to sleep, clean laundry, and a hot meal. Another boarding house would service the “bigwigs” from the company when they were in the area on company business (Estep and Smith).

 

A Kaymoor house

People living in Kaymoor would have lived in one of the houses provided by the company. At Kaymoor Bottom, these houses did not have a road between them and “houses were sit on hit and miss areas and a path from house to house” (Burgess 1980). The first company houses were built in 1901 and would have been single story with four rooms, fireplace, stove, and were made of wood. The footprint of these homes was 34 foot by 34 foot. The exterior of these homes was “board and batten,” wood siding that consists of narrow vertical strips or battens installed over a flat base or board. All 50 of the homes built in 1901 had electricity. The Lowmoor Iron Company built more homes in 1902, 1905, and 1918. These were very similar to the first set, except for 17 of the 1902 houses and all 1918 houses having weatherboard on the exterior. The last round of homes we have information for were built in 1923. These homes featured a front porch underneath the gabled roof and a fireplace that served all four rooms. Hilda Dempsey remembers the houses being gray, then painted white with black trim. Half a dozen homes were larger than the rest, and for the superintendents and foremen, these would have had bathrooms inside (Dempsey 1988). Homes would be assigned to employees and their families as they became available. Heat would be provided from a coal furnace or coal burning fireplace. Kaymoor Bottom had a bin at the coal house where you could get as much coal as you wanted, but you had to carry it home. A large lump of coal in the fireplace grate would last all night long (Celia).

 

Houses at Kaymoor Top 1920

Homes would be assigned to employees and their families as they became available. Heat would be provided from a coal furnace or coal burning fireplace. Kaymoor Bottom had a bin at the coal house where you could get as much coal as you wanted, but you had to carry it home. A large lump of coal in the fireplace grate would last all night long (Celia). People moved out of Kaymoor and into “normal” communities as vehicle travel became more popular. Some people moved into Fayetteville fairly early, and the outside foreman relocated to Fayetteville in 1935, driving back and forth to work. (OH 279).

People have fond memories of living in the community of Kaymoor, and have spoken about their experiences in oral history interviews. Holidays were always important celebrations. The Fourth of July was often a favorite memory, and the company store would take preorders for ice cream, soda, and watermelon (Estep and Smith: 279). Halloween was also a celebration, although it took a different form than it does today. People would often go to Fayetteville and “everyone dressed up and walked the streets. Some of the houses would give you something to drink but you would not trick or treat the way you do today” (Estep and Smith: 279). Kaymoor had several amenities including a theater, tennis courts, and a baseball field. Baseball was a very popular pastime in the West Virginia coalfields, and companies would try to recruit the best players to work and play for their company.

 

The movie theater was located at Kaymoor bottom, and it closed around the 1930s. A 1922 inventory list shows a Seeburg piano, a picture machine, and 220 opera seats. It cost 25 cents to watch a film, and they were only shown in the evening (Cottrell: 216). A newspaper ad from 1917 boasts of the “cleanest and best picture shows and Vaudeville performances.” One serial picture shown in the Kaymoor theater was “Patria,” a film that portrayed the pre-war sentiments of that era. Parts of the Patria film still exist. An African American man named Mr. Ratliff would play the piano (Cottrell:216). This ad from the local newspaper Fayette Democrat was published on May 8 1917.

 

Kaymoor resident Patsy

Many residents formed friendships during their time in the community. Bessie Cottrell was a resident of Kaymoor Bottom, and she would ride the haulage to Kaymoor Top to purchase milk and butter from Mrs. Donnelly because the company store did not sell dairy products in the 1920s (Cottrell: 216).

Even though violence occasionally reared its head, Kaymoor residents do not remember the town as a scary or violent place to live. There was not a saloon in Kaymoor, and the closest one was at the town of Fayette along what is now Fayette Station Road. The coal commission investigator at Kay Moor, G.H. Van Wagner, wrote in his notes about Kay Moor residents, "Tenants well satisfied. No complaint." Van Wagner gave the Kay Moor location a rating of 96 out of 100. The area had open, level to hilly country which offered normal and well-drained building sites. Van Wagner commented: "Drainage excellent. Small part of camp at bottom of mountain partly on hillside but drainage is excellent." The location also had sufficient to generous space for all the necessary buildings. Kay Moor was not an isolated coal camp: there was a good railroad and a concrete highway which provided interaction with surrounding communities. Van Wagner gave Kay Moor a camp rating of 81.22 out of a possible 100 points. This rating was based upon quality of housing, water supply and distribution, sewage and waste disposal, camp upkeep, food and merchandise supply, medical and health provision, educational provision, and recreational provision.

The U.S. Coal Commission's rating system was based upon several factors, Kay Moor's 96 point rating for location included scrutiny of the site, available space, and "facilities for intercourse with other communities," meaning accessibility of cities or towns not owned by a coal company. Kay Moor received the following ratings on each factor which influenced the desirability of the community as a suitable place to live: water — 90.5; sewage — 73.0; housing — 77.1; upkeep — 63.0; education — 78.2; recreation — 95.0. The coal commission investigator believed that Kay Moor had a remaining probable life of 70 years.