Things to do & places to visit in Pocahontas, Virginia, United States

Pocahontas city in Virginia, United States. Timezone: America/New_York, current date and time: Thursday, May 09, 2024, 11:40.

Top things to do

4.5 Pocahontas Exhibition Coal Mine (34 reviews)
- Down to the Past
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM Mines

Guide and storyteller Michele C. Crigger made this a vivid and intriguing experience. She relayed details of the lives of the mining families who made this place their boomtown home of the 1880s until the mine closed in the 1950s. Particularly poignant was the story of the coffin maker in the town who was ordered to stop work after a mine explosion occurred about 1885. As the bodies (over 140) were removed after a month under ground, the company had no need for individual coffins. Bodies and parts of bodies were buried in a mass grave in the local cemetery on the hill above this ghost town. From the tales of the rough and tumble coal mining life, to the occasional fossil of prehistoric fish still visible in the coal face, Michele made this a must see experience from America's industrial past. Andrew R. English, PhD. See more..