SEWELL, WV (LOOTPRESS) – In the historic locale of Sewell within the New River Gorge, once a thriving coal, coke, and commerce community, now stands a spectral testament to its storied past.
A photograph captured between 1890 and 1905 offers a glimpse of Sewell, framed against the backdrop of the New River, portraying remnants of its former vitality.
The Mann’s Creek Railway, a narrow gauge marvel operational from 1886 to 1955, traversed the challenging terrain from Clifftop to Sewell, covering nine miles of track and scaling some of the steepest gradients in the gorge.
Notably, a spur extended to Landisburg above Babcock State Park, facilitating the transport of lumber from a sizable mill to the Chesapeake $ & Ohio (C&O) mainline at Sewell—today, this route serves as the access road behind the Glade Creek Grist Mill to cabin 13.
Contrary to the prevailing association with coal, Sewell’s genesis can be traced to the late 1700s when Peter Bowyer, recognizing the strategic importance of the Old State Road proposed by President George Washington, established a cabin and ferry service at this pivotal juncture.
This road connected Lewisburg to Kanawha Falls, meandering through Sewell, across the river, and ascending the mountainous route through Cunard and Vandalia (now Fayetteville).
While Sewell witnessed some mining activity by the Longdale Iron Company, focused on coal, the town’s true transformation occurred with the advent of the Mann’s Creek Railway in 1886.
This engineering marvel facilitated access to new coal mines in Clifftop, marking a shift toward a predominantly coke-centric community.
The landscape once boasted nearly 200 beehive-style coke ovens, a testament to Sewell’s industrial prominence.
Beyond its industrial pursuits, Sewell housed a diverse array of enterprises, including private businesses, a hotel, a bottling plant, and a movie theater.
However, the town’s fortunes dwindled in the mid-1950s with the closure of the coke ovens, leading to its eventual abandonment.
The last resident, an employee of the C&O Railway, passed away in the 1970s, leaving Sewell to be reclaimed by nature.
An intriguing historical footnote reveals that the Mann’s Creek Railway, once offered to the state of West Virginia for transformation into a scenic railway akin to Cass Scenic Railroad, faced rejection due to concerns about wildfires caused by steam locomotives in the Mann’s Creek Gorge.
Today, the entirety of the railway’s right-of-way has been repurposed into established hiking trails, including the Narrow Gauge Trail and Sewell Trail at Babcock State Park.
While Sewell lies within the boundaries of the New River Gorge National Park, efforts persist to extend the trail to the town, accessible particularly in winter when overgrowth subsides.
This enigmatic town, once a bustling hub of industry and innovation, now endures as a historical relic, with its intricate past narrated by the remnants of the Mann’s Creek Railway and the echoes of a bygone era.