20th Century Photo of Matoaka, WV
We remember Matoaka...

Matoaka is a small community in the western part of Mercer County in West Virginia approximately 20 miles from Princeton, the county seat.  The population is declining in the entire area and is estimated to be less than 200 in the town area in 2020, a far cry from the 1,003 residents in 1950.  The entire community fits within 0.26 square miles.  The town was incorporated in 1912, and was named Matoaka after Chief Powatan's daughter, who was more commonly referred to as Pocahontas.  Read More...

Coal Camp Towns Surrounding Matoaka WV

Southern West Virginia was sparsely populated, mainly a farming area, in the 1880s. Land that was not being farmed was a dense wilderness with steep hillsides. This was an area inhabited by farmers and grazers, living in rough log structures, mainly self-sufficient, no electricity, either well water or water from mountain springs carried to homes. Some farms were over 1,000 acres in size. While the settlers of the area were aware of coal, it was only gathered for personal use in stoves and for blacksmiths. Read More...

Widemouth Creek

Widemouth Creek is a stream in Mercer County WV 6,7 miles from Princeton WV, named because of the rather wide mouth of the creek. The creek has two branches, the Right Branch and the Left Branch. Read More...

Railroads and Coal Companies

It is impossible to look at Matoaka over the years without seeing the importance of the railroad and coal on the area.  Prior to the arrival of the railroad, this area consisted of forests and family farms.  Roads were mainly just paths and wagon trails.  Matoaka became a hub for the coal towns and communities that developed around this small community because of the entrance of the railroads and the railroads were searching for the coal.  While each coal town had a company store, the railroad provided transportation throughout the region - from coal town to coal town - and to the larger communities of Princeton and Bluefield, all the way to Hampton Roads VA and points in between.  Read More...