New River Gorge National Park & Preserve guide · 2 min read
Nuttallburg's Preserved Coal Tipple and Conveyor
Nuttallburg was a busy coal mining town along the New River, and its remains now make up the Nuttallburg Coal Mining Complex and Town Historic District.
Mining here grew in the late 1800s and early 1900s, after the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway reached the area. The mine closed in 1958, and the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
The coal tipple and coal conveyor are among the site's key features. A photograph from 1927 shows the tipple at Nuttallburg. The Headhouse is part of the Nuttallburg Mine Site.
The Headhouse trail, which starts at Short Creek, is 0.7 mile and rated moderate, and it leads to the historic coal mine. The Conveyor trail is 0.8 mile and steep, linking the Headhouse with the Keeneys Creek Rail trail, which follows 3.3 miles of former rail line that connected to the Chesapeake and Ohio main line. Other options include the 0.5 mile Town Loop around old town ruins, the easy 0.6 mile Tipple trail, and the 0.3 mile Seldom Seen trail past ruins of a small community of Nuttallburg families.
Nuttallburg also tells the story of the people who worked there. It was a coal camp, a company town where the coal company owned the housing, the school and the water supply. Many of the people who came to work the mines were African American, along with native Appalachians and immigrants from Europe.
The African American Heritage Auto Tour is a self-guided drive past 17 historic sites in and around the gorge, and Nuttallburg is one of its stops. It tells the stories of African American coal miners, railroad workers and the communities that helped shape the region. Other stops include Camp Washington Carver and John Henry Historical Park, and the tour is available through the National Park Service app under Self-Guided Tours.
