2023 has been a stinker of a year for me. Thank y'all so much for making my Sunday and taking me to Almost Heaven for the beauty and the history lesson ❤
Thank you for visiting my home state Shane and Melody,. Welch is truly a beautiful part of the state. I believe you are close to a small town, War. It is regrettable that McDowell County is the poorest one in WV. Once coal mines shut down, the area just went downhill. The courthouse is a beautiful piece of architecture along with some other buildings. Take care.
I can relate to those small coal mine towns where coal mining was the income of 99% of the citizens, to feed their families, hard & dangerous work & in most cases at the end of the day they had very little to show for their struggles & i am sure every coal mining town had their tragedies, if not in the mine but yrs later from after with health problems, I tip my hat to those miners because it would be something i could never do go underground i think i be in a pantic attacks, now put me 200ft above ground level i could manage, but 2 ft below is another story, But relating to those beautiful little coal mining towns & the salt of the earth folk one might say that would take the shirt off their back to give a stranger even if it was the only shirt they had, was the same here in Newfoundland Canada, only we called those small towns Outports sometimes with only 5 or 6 families living there, outports that dotted he coastal shores of newfoundland, where fishing mostly cod & salmon, a time up the the late 60s when fish had to cutted, headed & splited & salted for few days, then washed & put out to be dried in the sun for few days,& salmon cleaned & salted in Barrels, Most of those outpors only had 2 ways to enter or leave, summer by boat, & winter by dog team, well i guess walking also, But most cases the nearest store was 20 or 30 miles away, so like many mining towns where the mining company also owned the towns store, here was the same but difference was the merchants that bought the fish also owned stores & instead of giving the fishermen money they paid the fishermen in groceries, mostly the basic, flour, sugar, tea, or coffee & can milk, because most kept a few sheep, goats chickens & if blessed a milking cow, But Molasses was always on the list not only for cooking but also made great home brew beer & seem like every outport had a small moonshine still that was mobile that everyone shared to run off little moonshine for Christmas to go along with fiddle &accordion music,& have to say my Dad was known all around the north coast & even Ireland for his fiddle playing, But times have changed even with the fishery now, where you can sell your fish straight from the boat without touching it once landed, & for cash, & most of those small outports are just memories when the Government forced the people out to major towns because it was cheaper than to put roads to them,
I was born in Welch in 1946. My father was Milton F. Butler. son of Joseph Straus Butler who was in charge of the Salvation Army Mission in Welch. I started the first grade in one of the buildings at the high school. I have watched several videos of Welch showing its decline. In the late 40's and for long after it was a bustling and vibrant little City. I believe it was once described as a Little New York City, in large part due to its diverse races and ethnic groups from all over the world. These immigrants came to America for a better life, Jobs were plentiful working in the mines. That downtown scene from the 40's, of which I have a copy, reminded me that there were two movie theaters on the main street. Their signs can be seen in the photos. My Aunt Jane worked the ticket booth at one and my Aunt Sue worked at the other. Even though my family moved to Missouri in 1952, we would return many times to visit my Grandmother Maggie. Margaret Mae Owen. I have hundreds if not thousands of memories of my family, school, downtown Welch and those serpentine curves of the highways, I wish you guys had turned right on Hobart Street, which is beside the Memorial Building next to the Courthouse. For many years, my grandmother lived in an apartment building just over the top of that first hill. I wonder if the building has been razed by now. Hobart Street continues well up the ridge. I remember living on Hobart Street , a time of which I have many crystal clear memories. Thank you so much for awakening my memories of a wonderful and impacting time in my life.
I have an old time story about Welch. When I was a young boy in the late 50’s my parents gathered my brother and me and went south to visit my Mother’s family In Williamson, Wv and also in Blackberry City. Other places as well in the area. I remember us driving on a two lane state road when we were stopped by a State Trooper. He approached the car and told my Dad he wasn’t in trouble. He wanted to warn us about driving through Welch as it was a speed trap with a 10 mph limit in town and they also had traffic. Lights that were about 4 feet tall. He told us the city would look for out of towners and arrest them with big fines. We did go through Welch as there was no other way in the days of two lane roads. My Dad drove carefully and we had no problems. With thanks to the West a.state police.
Shane, I am very glad you mentioned something about Democrat party and it's Union connection and that the party is against coal mining. Quite frankly, that party stifles almost every industry they claim to endorse and sadly many people never make the connection.
I was in Welch WV just recently. I was born there and I left after I graduated from Mount View High School. The condition of the city is an absolute shock to me. The old buildings in town were apart of my childhood especially when they decorated the town for Christmas, it was all so beautiful.
@@davidjanson7982 Living in Welch now could be problematic for me, I wouldn’t be able to do it, there are areas in WV that are thriving and acceptable places to live. Right now I am looking for that place. But I will most definitely retire and return to WV at some point.
Watching this video in Welch. On a vacation from Finland. For some reason this place resonated in me. Nothing like home, but still something that i recognise. Me and my buddy been driving around West Virginia now for a week. Met nothing but nice people. Thank you everybody.
My pawpaw Henry worked in the mines and drove a taxi in Welch way back when it was boomin! My daddy was born and raised in and around the area and I just love your videos ❤ makes me homesick for my family back there too ❤ Thanks and God bless you both 🙏
I graduated from Welch High School in 1977. Next to the last graduating class there before Mt View High School. I am the same age as Jeanette Walls and went to school with her and her sister, who I believe was a year younger. I watch this and want to tell y'all what was in every building and vacant lot! Impossible of course, but people just don't have enough imagination to see it for what it was. Little New York was the nickname. I will tell you that the building with the Budweiser sign was just a warehouse for them in the 80s and 90s. But in it's heyday that building was a factory that actually made cans (metal workers). Another part was where products were actually put in those cans. And another part was distribution for these products. Never actually a grocery store though. The auto storage building was owned by a guy by the name of Joe Hassen. There were so many businesses, workers, and residents in Welch that you could rent a space in this building for your vehicles! There are several floors and it had a large elevator that you drove your car into. The elevator entrance is still there and faces towards the Little General Exxon across the street.Thanks so much for this one!
@@ayleenfernanda9207 I hope you are right. No watering hole in Welch anymore. Unless you count the one poker machine dive. Used to be so many bars here we couldn't decide where to go. Loss of population did close most of them. The others because of holier than thou mayors and cops with nothing to do except sit at the parking building and wait for you to come out. I sure hope this doesn't happen again.
My dad owned a store there for years but it's been shut down longer than he ran it. It's right after you go under the historic train track that many trucks peel their top back on. Its called Buck Stove
This was awesome to see. My mother grew up in Welch and I spent a good time there in the 1970s. I've been to the Pocahontas Theater and the Flatiron Grill, and to the Catholic church on the hill. Both sets of my mother's grandparents were Italian immigrants. One great grandfather and my grandfather (aka Nonno) were stone masons. Yes, the stone work is very similar to what my Nonno used to do, so I believe you are right that it was done by the local Italians.
Hey, Shane and Melody. Two great stories about 'Mac'Dowell County, West Virginia (spelled McDowell). There's a retired McDowell Circuit Court Judge Booker T Steven's that conducted a pre-trial conference on a civil lawsuit my insurance company was involved and I was sent a representative with our attorney. Our attorney was originally from McDowell Co too. When we were sitting in the judges office, he EMPHATICALLY stated that it was pronounced 'MAC'dowell County to both me and the attorney. I chuckled and his stare burned a hole in me. 2nd story...on another case, I was investigating a major theft of tools from an insured that owned an entire mountain top in Wyoming County in Pineville (very wealth man). On top he had a light aircraft landing stripe and helicopter hangar with a brand new bell. This guy was in his 70/80's but had just recently gotten his rotor aircraft license. After taking his statement and looking into his loss, I headed to Welch for another appointment. The guy that I had just left flew into Welch and landed the helicopter on top of the business he owned in Welch. Amazing in little ol' southern West Virginia. Yes, Welch was a wild town. My 1st cousin was a West Virginia State Trooper in McDowell County years ago. He told some great stories.
lol, i've been called out in my earlier days for the lack of "mac" lol. It is surprising the level of wealth and sophistication that has come from those hills.
Beautiful small town. I really want to visit the Appalachians next time I'm in the US. Also funny to hear you talk about a town from the 1890's as old with a lot of history. From a European perspective that town would be considered brand new! :D
Courthouse is awesome! Enjoyed the tour and the history! Love the old buildings, love the old signs, and always love a little free library! Great video, thanks for sharing!
My home county. The nation needs to know about the billions of dollars of coal that came from McDowell county and help build our country. It's unbelievable the shape McDowell county is in now. It's like a third world country. Ghost town's. Drugs have turned a lot of people into zombies.
Fun Fact: When John Kennedy was there he got the idea to go to the Moon. He got from a young man (still in high school) name of Homer Hickam Jr. (October Sky aka Rocket Boys) who was in the crowd when give his speech. He (Homer) said that we should go to the Moon and see what there and have West Virginian miners mine it.
I go to McDowell often to do black and white film photography. I too met Ed Shepard and twice sat in his office talking and never took a photo!! I hope they do something good with the station.
Small towns like these scare me. When the biggest employer & source of town revenue is related to the criminal justice system, their livelihoods are contingent upon finding people to lock up. When the demand for criminals is greater than the supply... people tend to get creative. Still, the natural landscape around town is gorgeous.
The school in Welch in the 1970s was a middle school I went to school there it was 3 buildings I walk outside when switching class that was the good old days
What memories! Though it's been 45 years, most of the buildings and roads look the same. You passed by my former workplace on Virginia Ave, the Social Security office, across the street from the State Farm Insurance building. I think SSA has moved twice since then. Thanks again for posting this.
My dad was born and raised there. I have never been there. So thanks for the video of it. I used to spend my summers in man, which i commented on that video. My papas house was in that video. Thanks again for doing these videos.
Interesting and very educational as usual. Hope y'all are well. Its ridiculously HOT here in North Mississippi but i guess its hot everywhere. Again thank you for another fun ride-along. Keep'em coming!!!
I had a lady from Welch invite me over about 7 years ago, the next morning we took a walk to the drug store that if i remember correctly had the flood markings of the flood they had back in the day. You know i have a house in WV and got my tax bill which was only 165.00 for the entire year==AMAZING in my opinion
I've been speaking to the lady that runs the Food Bank there (God's Grace Ministries)... for personal reasons. No...I don't use it, I live in another state. They would really love to see new businesses come in. Those ATV's are a part of that. She is the kindest lady, and can give you so much information about Welch, and it's people. She is the Owner of a Bed and Breakfast, called Eva's House. Her name is Sandi Blankenship. She loves her Community, and cares so much for the people there...especially the children. Thanks for the tour.
I believe Roy Simmons and Dan Simmons my grandfather were brothers , i was born in Red Ash between the school house in house over the hill below JB Howell's store in 1936. Glad to see you and Melody are going strong, keep up the good work blessing to both. @@realappalachia
I wonder where the location of the clothing store that Homer Hickam jr bought his orange suit for the national science fair was before he was made to return it
Born stevens clinic 1948. Attended havaco elem school. Remember the christmas display at welch courthouse until discontinued due to court order. Movies at starland drive in and pocahontas theater
The U.S. Census counts and reports on household population differently than group quarter population (includes prisoners). Prisoner population would not be applicable to boost population for household population based grants.
Funny how all these small towns in WV feel the same as you drive through them (and I’m not just talking about the the Family Dollar😂) It’s sad to see these beautiful small towns dying. Makes my heart ache for my home state of WV. I also have honestly never taken the time to read all through the comments on your videos, but I’m going to start. What great stories that get shared on here!
Coalwood girl here, just a couple of things for you, thev76 station was once upon a time a Pure gas starion and there was a kind of similar Pure station on Rte 52 in Bramwell. Tyson Towers was the Carter Hotel. Downstairs in that building was a beauty shop owned by one of my moms friends, and also a bar whose name I can't remember. The old McDowell County National Bank building had a revolving door, which I thought was so cool when I was a kid. Actually still had an account there for a few years after I moved to Abingdon. I really enjoy your McDowell County videos, keep them coming!
Thank you for that excellent information. Is my memory correct - wasnt there an elevator in one of the buildings that had a guy that worked it for years and years? Possibly at Elkhorn Towers? I may be confusing it with another story. My memory ain’t what it used to be lol
@@realappalachia Well, not sure. I would imagine the Carter Hotel had an elevator, at least in its heyday, because there were several floors and you'd think they wouldn't want guests to have to use the stairs, but I was never allowed to go inside the hotel part of the building so I can't really say. The only two buildings that I know for sure had elevators were the two hospitals, Stevens Clinic (which is now the regional jail), and Doctors Memorial Hospital, which was formerly Grace Hospital, and before that had another name, maybe something to do with miners, but it was Grace when I was born there. It was late when I watched this, did I see that the "new" movie theater is now called the Pocahontas instead of Marquee, or whatever it was last time I drove through? I can remember coming home from Marshall one weekend with plans to go to the original Pocahontas with my friend, only be disappointed because it had burned to the ground (supposedly by the owner), so we had to go to Bluefield to see the movie. Her 100 year old grandmother said we were "so brave" to go to Bluefield at night by ourselves (I believe this was late 70s early 80s (!), we didn't think a thing about it.
Do you know where the men’s store was that Homer Hickam wrote about in Rocket Boys when he bought his suit for the National Science fair was? Is the building still there or was it torn down because of the flooding?
@@michaelbragg6903 It has been a long time since I read the book, I think he called it something different in the book, but the men's store in Welch was Belcher and Mooney, on McDowell Street. The WV Secretary of State website shows the business dissolved by court order in 1985. The building was still there last time I drove through Welch about 3 years ago. I remember they had a rather fancy entrance. There are very few businesses still open on McDowell Street, which is the main street. Lots of emptiness. Sears, JC Penney, Western Auto, G.C Murphy (very similar to Woolworths), department stores, dress shops, drug stores, furniture store, all used to be there. The parking building where JFK made his campaign speech is no longer in use, but the building was still standing. Welch is very sad to see these days, as are Coalwood and War. Might as well say all the towns in the county.
Thanks for another great video. I just love driving with you through all these small towns and hearing the stories from Melody. But Shane y'all gotta watch those stops signs at 10:58 especially with a police car sitting on the side of the road.😅😅😅 Safe travels
That courthouse is amazing. The courthouse in Bridgeton, Cumberland County (NJ) is on the side of a hill, near the top. But it faces the street, which goes up hill in front of it. It was built 1903, and is quite beautiful. Did I hear Shane say the words "Brass Castle"? Or was it "Glass Castle?" Up in Warren County (NJ) there's a place called Brass Castle. At 14:55- what a beautiful view of those churches and other buildings! One of the coolest bank buildings in South Jersey is the old First National Bank, in Woodstown, Salem County. Cool to see the Little Free Library, and it's nice Shane put a book in there. I have seen at least one of those Little Free Libraries around here. Your story of the sad thing that happened on the courthouse steps reminds me of a story about something that happened on the courthouse steps in Salem County, NJ. There was a guy with the last name of Johnson, who sat on the steps of the courthouse, about 200 years ago, and ate a tomato in front of a crowd, to prove that tomatoes were good to eat, and that he would not die from it. They say in some ways that was the birth of "Jersey Tomatoes". Up to that point, tomatoes were thought to be poisonous! Oh man, those murals. They are awesome. I love murals. Speaking of JFK visiting there, President Reagan visited Hammonton, NJ one time, but it was before we moved to the area. I forget the exact year it was. But they have a historical plaque about it, which I think is in the spot where he stood. But I'm not sure on that. Anyway, I really enjoyed this visit to Welch.
Very Beautiful Town, just looking at the beautiful historic buildings & houses, But the sad thing a very good chance in the future they will be torn down to make room for something modern, & with time the history dies with it, i just hope Video"s & picture"s like this are kept, because it will be the only thing we will have to keep history & vision alive for anyone that that will show history some intrest in the future, To be honest i can"t see the point of written history anymore because way education is leading in 100yrs from now nobody or should say say most will not know how to read or write anyway even if they carry some collage degree, So thank you for sharing & taking your time to make those beautiful video"s
It’s fun to follow along with the video while using Google Earth in street view mode; it gives a good perspective about where these places actually are.
My dad grew up in Welch, was a life guard at the pool there, graduated from the old Welch High School. Back in the 70 and 80s, downtown Welch was a booming place. Sad to see all the empty buildings, but that's downtowns almost everywhere in the south really. They've done a good job of getting rid of some of the blighted buildings. Would love to see y'all do a video on Bartley.
@RhondaA My mother and aunt were born at Stevens Clinic, too (1938 and 1943). They grew up in Bartley, so I gotta ask if you knew Duck and Monnie? Or their daughters Kay and Carol Sue? Also: my parents were married in the church in Bartley in 1960.
@atldaddybear my mom was born in 1939. She grew up in Tipple Bottom in Bartley. Her name was Sandy Counts. I don't recognize those names but my mother may have know them.
I live in a small town in Oregon...Due to politics and other things I have been wanting a change of scenery and people. Would you suggest Welch Wv as somewhere to move?? Another guy did a documentary and talked to the town people and so on and it sparked my interest. Also do you think you could possible do a video of visiting businesses as well as ElkHorn Towers maybe capture some video of an empty apartment? Or even better maybe getting a resident to show them their apartment? This would probably be my only option of living since Im on disability.
If you haven't already been though there another beautiful place down in WVA is an area known as hidden valley i had a couple jobs there and its kinda eerie there Was only 1 store/carryout and the terrain was pretty flat for wva and one of those areas where everyone literally knew everyone. Not must or anything to really see but that area stuck in my memory i worked on and off down there for almost a year before i quit directv and that was a big reason i quite because i kept getting sent down there to work and was putting in 14 15 hr days and not making much money because jobs were so far a part and its hard finding places that have rual routes address and i couldn't get cell phone service alot of times to call customers for directions and 90% of the jobs were billed as upgrades when in fact it was actually a whole new install finding lines of sight for satellite dish a replacing old out of date cables . I did a lot of driving back roads and st routes i was caught in a tornado in maitwan one summer
There was a show called returning the favor with Mike Rowe he did a show in that town with a woman that was running a food pantry I just wonder if the food pantry is still there
Hey Guys, wasn't there a movie made about those men getting killed on the courthouse steps? How does a town serve on just 1900 taxpayers? Awesome video thumbs up. Stay well & safe.
Welch is pretty tame downtown these days so as long as you stay in the main parts of town you’ll be fine. They’re used to people coming in to ride their ATV trails and so forth so they’re more open to visitors than a lot of comparable towns.
