The Story of Pocahontas (VA)

[wlotus]

A view of the main street in Pocahontas, VA. 6 September 2009

The story of Pocahontas, VA is told by these building remnants on the nearly deserted main street. Ornate storefronts shield your view from the ruins behind them and tell a story of a glorious past long gone. At the far end of the street is the remains of the general store, of which only the face of the building remains. The roof and remaining three outside walls fell to the elements.

There is no gas station in Pocahontas. No pharmacy. No doctor's office. No grocery store. No restaurants. No schools. The population stands at under 400, with only 2% African-American. There are more people dead in the main and black cemeteries (yes, there are two separate cemeteries, though the black cemetery no longer takes new burials) than are alive in the town. This once thriving coal town is slowly dying out.

Comments

[dreamsrundeep.livejournal.com]

Touching shot. I used to work at the Virginia Museum of Transportation and Pocahontas was a place we talked about a lot as a coal casualty and rail-road abandonment. Painful to see it like that.

[wlotus.livejournal.com]

Come to mention it, I remember seeing the railroad tracks still running through town, but no trains pass through there. Is that line closed down?

[dreamsrundeep.livejournal.com]

I believe that it is. And if not, a train might pass through there once a week, at best.