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Coalwood is an unincorporated community coal town in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA. The coal mine in Coalwood reached its peak in the 1960s and finally shut down production on October 1, 1982. As of the 1990 Census - the last time the town was counted separately - , the population was 900. The town is the setting of the best-selling memoir ''Rocket Boys'' by Homer Hickam and the movie ''October Sky'' based on the book. ==History== Coalwood was founded by George Lafayette Carter in 1905. He came on the back of a mule and eventually found rich seams of coal, and bought 20,000 acres (80 km²). He constructed a mine, calling it the Carter Coal Company and built offices, houses, a schoolhouse, the Carter Coal Company Store, a church and more. Carter hired a dentist and doctor to provide service to his miners. In 1922, Carter sold the mine and properties within the town to the Consolidation Coal Company. The company rebuilt the community and recruited new employees to work in the mines, but Carter regained the company when Consolidation Coal defaulted on its payments in 1933.〔 Carter died in 1936, and the company was then taken over by his son James who sold it in 1947 to a group of industrialists who changed the company name to the Olga Coal Company. In 1956, the Coalwood mine was connected underground to the nearby Caretta mine which was also owned by Olga. In 1959, Olga ceased bringing coal to the surface via Coalwood which prompted the Norfolk and Western Railway to begin pulling up the tracks leading to and from Coalwood.〔 The Coalwood-Caretta mine continued to be productive throughout most of the 20th century, producing on average one million tons annually until the mine was finally closed.〔 At its peak, Coalwood had a population of over 2,000. In 1980, the Olga Coal Company was bought by the LTV Corporation which closed Coalwood's mine in 1986.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Coalwood, West Virginia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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