Keystone West Virginia: Sodom & Gomorrah of Appalachia
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ก.ย. 2024
- Keystone, West Virginia, tucked away in McDowell County, carries a dark and infamous history. Once called the "Sodom and Gomorrah of Appalachia," this small town earned a notorious reputation that spread far beyond the coalfields. In the early 20th century, a section of town known as Cinder Bottom became a red-light district filled with brothels, saloons, and rampant lawlessness. Coal miners flocked there for entertainment, while violence and corruption were routine. The local police, rather than enforcing the law, profited from the illegal businesses by collecting bribes.
The brothels were controlled not by outcasts but by savvy businesswomen who built empires in this gritty underworld. These madams navigated legal loopholes, moving constantly to avoid getting caught. Despite its dangerous reputation, Cinder Bottom was a thriving hub of vice, operating under a system that valued profit over morality.
Keystone’s notoriety didn’t end there. In the 1990s, it became the epicenter of a massive banking scandal. The First National Bank of Keystone collapsed after a $500 million fraud scheme, costing taxpayers up to $850 million. The bank’s head, Terry Church, tried to cover up the corruption, but the FBI uncovered the truth. This marked one of the biggest bank failures in U.S. history.
Today, Keystone is a shell of its former self, with crumbling buildings and a dwindling population. Though its days of scandal are in the past, the town’s history of vice and corruption still lingers.
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Thanks for watching! Love hearing from y'all in the comments, what'd you think of Keystone?
Poor Keystone! Madams, thieves, Hookers, horrid cops and theft!! What a History in such a small town in such a beautiful place. Thanks again Josh
Growing up in the neighboring county, I have heard stories about Cinder Bottom my whole life. I actually travel this section of rail regularly because I'm a Locomtive Engineer for NS, and one thing I've learned is that the road and Elkhorn Creek have been re-routed since Keystones " Hay Day". I love local history and something that may be of interest to you might be the Wagon Wheel. It was a getaway built by Coal Magnates for such things described here, but now is just a popular location for off roading. Good stuff, thanks.
@@wbrianna27 All cities and towns have seedy sides. Evil hides its dirty deeds.
Going to move there soon. Housing is very affordable.
I'm from Wheeling. In the Northern Panhandle of WV, we might as well be Ohio or PA. My grandfather was a policeman in Wheeling who was suspended twice because he arrested a local mobster. I was a bartender in a local bar that all the cops in Wheeling went to. I have many many stories.
Wow it’s really refreshing to hear a video being narrated by a real voice. I am very tired of these fake robotic voice Narrators.
@@FatGuyTries I even make appearances in some of them 🤣😉 Thanks for watching!
@@MountainRoots brother I've been on TH-cam for 14 + years.... I only sub to 28 channels... Congratulations on being number 29! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! My mountain Roots Marathon awaits... Okay I'm going to need another cup of coffee 😌☕
@@FatGuyTries make it a double, cheers!
Not only a real voice, but a script that is not a robotic disaster
@@kevinrogan9871 you got that right!
My dad always said if not for the crooked politicians West Virginia would be one the richest states.
That’s a fact!
My family said the same!
If not for the crooked politicians, the U.S. would be the richest nation.
It’s like that everywhere in the United States. The American people refuse to oversee their government. Until the people change, everything gets worse. Look to the people for recovery.
... and it continues today.
Don't freak out. This is nothing compared to what happens where the filthy rich live ....... except their debauchery is kept secret.
*addendum to my orig. comment here; "Taken at Birth" a documentary shown on TLC (channel) about Thomas J. Hicks during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1997, the story was revealed that Hicks spearheaded a black market baby ring out of his clinic - there are survivors who were found thru DNA as well, pretty heartbreaking. So there is so much more to all this, not just here though, the "doctors" who performed "certain operations" and
sometimes killed, sometimes maimed, threw away in the river back of the "doctor's office" but everyone
in towns knew who to "go to" if you got in "trouble" and some were given away to families as tiny infants
brought on early thru induction and sold out the back door. there was a whole documentary on this and
several towns were connected, all politicians and those running things were involved, to cover up the
hidden affairs and the results of those affairs to protect their dirty deeds. horrible things people, not
just small towns of course but it's all the same and it affects generations, look at America and what we've
allowed into our country...........we started serving the dark side whether we like to admit it or not. time
is short..........wakey, wakey. it starts with each one of us, not some politician to "save us" from ourselves.
only God can do this.
Like Pedo Island. Where's the black book and whose in it? I'm sure it would rock Hollywood and DC! 💀
@@JustMe-uu3bh Facts. Well said.
@@twiceland4everThe BOOK'S BEEN OUT.
All in there are protected or have called in requesting PROTECTION with who knows what can of FAVORS in RETURN.
Diddy's STUFF was BLATANTLY Flaunted, until for some reason the PARTY was shut down.
Some TOP PLAYER must've gone there.
So they're *literal* Keystone Kops? 😂
The irony is too much!
You beat me to it😊
Actually, refers to the state of Pennsylvania which was a slapstick comedy, >100 years ago.
@@danielkoher1944 I realize it's based on the silent slapstick films. The joke was that the cops in this mountain town of Keystone were also inept, and unethical. Sorry I didn't tell it well enough .
@@jadefire2817
You told it, although this wasn’t/isn’t the only literal 😳 hotbed.
Vice and corruption has and always will run the world.
Just the natural order of life...Yin Yang ☯️
@@danielkoher1944
"AKTCHUALY..."
It was a joke, shut up Karen.
This place can't hold a candle to Washington DC for being wicked.
No kidding
I’ll betcha a dollar!
District of Corruption.
No doubt murder rape fraud theft of trillions debauchery child sex trafficking the only place in the world worse than DC is Vatican City
AGREED
Fascinating.
I was a bartender in Virginia in the early 90s. One of my regulars, an older fella who had a thick country accent, told me a few pretty wild stories from his younger days, several of which centered around a place called “Cinder Bottom.” Looks like he was telling the truth
I've lived in eastern West Virginia for 75 of my 85 years and I never heard of Keystone, let alone its history. This is one very interesting presentation.
Where u been ? Under a rock
Well I must have been under that same rock, I was born in Logan county in 77, and lived there til 98. This one is new to me, glad it posted
@@jamesharley9679 Worse than that. I've traveled all over the state too.
I'm in the eastern panhandle, lived here all my 40 years and I haven't heard of it either?!
@@booneminshall2598 You must be under the same rock I'm under. LOL
Things sure were different when the mines were open. This area is my home. My family has had a business here since the 1860's and its still going on now. I am always shocked when I come across these TH-cam channels about where I live. My dad really protected us back in the day and I see why now. I am old and it was different back then. I can remember there were certain people and places that were forbidden. Some of us are good folks, back then and now. Its a shame no one ever talks about the good things, like we have a lot of good musicians and Artists and quilters. I saw one video where a TH-camr stood right in front of the Bluefield Arts and Crafts museum and did not show it and acted like nothing good was in the town. It kinda bothers me. I guess the Vice stories are more interesting.😔
Hey, I get it! My ancestors are from these hollers & hills. If you'll take some time to go through the body of my work, you'll see I do not make it a point to focus on what I call "trauma tourism" or the negative- from Welch to Iaeger and so many other places I think you'll find I showcase them with the utmost respect. However, I also don't shy away from showing some of the aspects with historical significance, such as these stories of Keystone. Even the title of this video was taken from a book written over 100 years ago that called Keystone Sodom & Gomorrah. So, it's simply a historical reference. I know there are good, honest, hard working folks in these places. Some may even be my kinfolk. I would love to talk more with you, perhaps even sit down and chat on camera about your business and how things have changed over the years- a true local perspective. If you're interested please let me know!
@@MountainRoots I would have to think long and hard on that, we have owned the same business which is still going on today and my dad is still alive at 85 yrs old, he is very strict because it's a funeral home, and let me tell you we also had the only ambulance back in the day and the stories are many, some very funny I might add. I just wouldn't want to be disrespectful to anyone.
@@MountainRoots
I’m from a holler too. I’m 71 years old, had the best childhood as everyone looked out for us kids. Church was the center of the community. I don’t remember anyone cussing or drinking alcohol. I had lots of cousins to play with. West Virginia still gets a bad rap. Few know it’s a state as they’ll say yeah I’ve been to Norfolk. After 20 years of living in Florida I’m back in Charleston. We have more mountains than any state, people are so friendly here and very few homeless, Crime is low. I’m glad life took me back to my country roads.
@Mithras444 understood, I never knowingly try to disrespect anyone, regardless of my personal opinions. If you ever find you're interested reach out to me either here or through my contact page of my website: www.mountainrootspro.com
@@dianakidd4219 Funny, same move is going on for me except I'm going to be on the other side of the Ohio River in Ohio. Parents, sister and niece were all born in Ohio and grand parents worked in WV at one time. Charleston is closer driving than Columbus is.
I loved Wv!! The people are so kind & welcoming! The landscapes are beautiful especially in the fall!❤🇱🇷❤
That was not my experience in WV.
@drbuckley1 Well, every state, especially now, has their areas where it's crime-ridden, poor, drug infested, or just obnoxious people!
Bullshit!.
@@drbuckley1 there are some areas of WV where the people are very kind.
@@lianalonge1984I'm from here and half of everyone is on opiates
My dad was from McDowell County. My grandfather ran a company store. I've heard stories of keystone most of my life.
Please, do tell.
Really? Where did he meet your mom?
@lordalmighty322 she's from McDowell also. Lolol alot of my family is still living in the county.
My father was station manager for a major airline in Charleston, WV, the stories he told me about the corruption and incompetence of the airport political authority still haunts me to this day!
I’d say it STILL goes on… we’ve just RECENTLY expanded the runway here and can now go as far as ORLANDO!!! 😂😂🤦🏽♂️ imagine that - like 4 whole entire states away, I mean it got built ON TOP of a mountain.. what’s wrong with that… certainly ZERO weather conditions.. and in 2024 you can’t make it but 5 hours away by plane flight… nahh No corruption here, we’re just old school… that way with this ENTIRE place
I believe that God is cracking down on the corruption. Lot of the corrupt are meeting justice and lots of good things ARE happening. We, the USA, do have a long way to go, still. Above all we need justice for crime, whatever it may be...especially against children and other innocents.
I used to love flying into Yeager airport. You kept altitude, and the runway comes up to meet YOU. 😅
@@spangdeez498 So ignorance rules then and ego is ignorance, "what is yours is mine and what's mine is mine", "none for thee, all for me" like the George Soros and "ruling elites" (evil) of the world, pray people, bring God back and He promised
He would heal our land if we repented and turned away from evil. In the Bible God tells us;
2 Chronicles 7:14
King James Version
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Major airline ??
So crooked cops and corrupted government has always been the genesis a city's demise.
You bet the universal recipe. Chicago, New York, etc.
@@belamoureThe Democrat recipe!
@@patricksmith5282 So in you fantasy Keystone is the Democrat stronghold....
Simply no one dumber or more gullible than a Poor Conservative Republican....Send your last dollar to the Begging Billionaire!
@@patricksmith5282 Oakland Dallas
SAN FRANCISCO……ALL CALIFORNIA…HEADBOARD HARRIS COUNTRY
I'm a direct descendant of a blood line that has inhabited Appalachia since the mid 1700s. Love the content! Definitely helps shed a light on a way of life and population typically not given much thought by history. Keep it up, and I'll keep watching and waiting for you to make it to my ancestral neck of the woods!
@@stevenrogers1087 where would that be? And thanks for watching!
@@MountainRoots Powell County, KY.
I'm so, so sorry.....anyways most families deep in the wash dc area, that have been there for generations, are direct descendants too. It was the closest big city to leave to for many young Appalachian kids. Lots of Scotts Irish that were just one generation away from their true coalminer hillbillisms
same here!
Eww gross
As a former employee of Keystone bank, accounts were insured up to $100,000. However, many ignored that and had accounts well in excess of it and therefore lost it.
@@DreneeBolden my dad had a cd in that bank. He finally got his money back. They were advertising better interest on cds than any other bank was.
@@DreneeBolden wow must be rough to have such monies.
My grandfather owned all the property in Northfork, property in Bramwell and Keystone. I used to go there when I was a kid. My grandmother told me about the brothels in Keystone and how wild the town was. I always thought “That podunk place?”
Your grandfather didn’t own all the property in Northfork. He may have owned some. But multiple coal companies owned most of the property everywhere. If not them, the railroad.
@@DreneeBolden No he didn’t own all the property that was a gross overstatement. He owned land where post office multiple municipal buildings. He was also the major share owner in the bank to me as a little kid seemed like all the property. I still own some worthless coal mines in surrounding counties. I still pay taxes in McDowell and Mingo Counties to this day. North Fork was a very small town and I fondly remember visiting. My mother lived there until college. We traveled frequently from Huntington. I spent most of my adult life in New England but my trips to the coalfields
I look back on trips from Huntington to the WV coalfields as a magical adventure.
@@jebbiekanfer8843 One of our current candidates for Governor's mother was raised in Bramwell. It was an interesting place. Sold more Chanel No. 5'than any town in the world at one time.
@@ValRapt121 Bramwell had the most millionaires per capita at one point. My boyfriend and I drove down there our senior year in high school almost 50 years ago. I remember some beautiful homes there.
When I was growing up, my grandparents lived in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, but sometime around 1912-15 (when my father was around 6-9 yrs. old), they moved to Keystone. My grandfather was working as a deputy sheriff, when a person attempted a robbery. The would-be robber shot my grandfather in the stomach, but my grandfather shot him dead. Luckily, there was a doctor close by who saved his life! My grandmother said to my grandfather:"This is no place to raise children!" They then moved to Wilkes County, which was known as the "Moonshine Capitol!" My brother is 10 years older than I, and he told me that our grandfather would say to him when he was a kid:"Do you want to see my 2 navels?" He would pull up his shirt , displaying his real navel, and would then point to his faux navel, the scar from the shooting. On another note, not related to keystone, my late mother would always remind me to keep my tetanus shot up to date, and would tell me that back in North Wilkesboro in the 1920s,my father's cousin was chopping wood and cut his foot with the rusty axe. My mother said "He got lockjaw and died!" Not having a picture of him from life, they took one of him in death, but not at the funeral home. In the old family album is a picture of my father's cousin's wife standing in their front yard, with her late husband "standing" beside her, in the coffin and propped up (kind of like Morgan Freeman at the end of "Unforgiven"(1992). I wrote about both of these happenings some years ago in a column in the Salisbury Post (my old home town is Salisbury). In the case of the article about my father's unfortunate cousin, "standing" next to his wife in the front yard, I gave it the title "American Macabre"(take-off on the painting, "American Gothic").There's just something different about us folks who come from the mountains and the foothills.
Coal Kings have run WV. For many years now. Their governor now was and is one of them.
I’ve always said the only difference between the government and the mafia is that one is legal and the other one isn’t.
"They that sow to the flesh, shall reap corruption." Galatians 6:8
The Democrat party
Your guy slept with a porn star while his wife was pregnant. What’s your point? 😂
Religious cultist and political cultist. Two weak-minded peas in an ignorant pod.
@@shannonhawkins3296 I think the Bible's referring to similar, but different type of corruption: ghonnorea.
AMEN ✝️🙏🏽❤️
Thank you for using your own voice. Really cool piece. I live in VA and spend a lot of time in WV. I love the state of WV, its roads, mountains, valleys, small towns, and best of all, it's people.
Thanks for protecting and sharing American history! Awesome production as always.
@@ADHski I appreciate you watching!
Here here!
Man what a good video. It's rare to find someone with lots of knowledge in the history of areas like this. Subscribed 👍
@tallyforeman3145 really glad you found me! Also check out my new national show on PBS called Hometowns. Season 2 starts next week!
@@MountainRoots groovy. Will do!
I'm from Welch WV not far from Keystone. This town and surrounding towns was devastated by floods back in the early 2000's... I left after the second one hit. I was a EMT for McDowell Ambulance Service at the time and I seen things in the second flood that to this day bothers me. I miss my home and it was the place to live before the floods and all the drugs came in.
Cinder Bottom was rough back in the day, my dad used to talk about it. Mining was a hard life.
About when did it stop? If your dad spoke about it you would have a general time frame?
I remember my dad and his friend talking about it if they raided and you got caught you had to pay your fine and hers
Im from Huntington, West Virginia. Born in Charleston. I found your channel, and I love it. In kenova cops are so crooked that it's not funny . Thank you ❤
I had to move to a small town to understand that. They are often the biggest criminals
@@purplelady444
Big towns must be worse. NYC head of police just had his house raided along with two of the mayors aids because if ties to China and Turkey. People are people wherever you go, some honor God and live accordingly, some honor their God, $$$$.
I do remember in Charleston when Randy Moss beat his GF up, I think he had a baby with her, the police and preachers in Charleston bailed him out wanting him to succeed.
Which he did.
Sounds like all government is corrupt
I’m from Huntington, and my family moved move to Kenova sometime like 14 years ago, and I hate Kenova, my whole family does.
As always, the story, video, and narration are exceptional, Josh. Volumes and volumes could no doubt be written about fortunes lost and families wrecked by this malignancy in the mountains. I have no doubt that other communities throughout the United States have had similar, if less notorious, manifestations of human evil undermine their present and future hopes. Simply superbly delivered.
Glad you found this one friend! Really appreciate you watching.
I used to work around Kimball, Keystone, Welsh and War. You can't tell the abandoned houses from those occupied. I'm surprised businessmen haven't parlayed the low cost of living and the scenery of WV into the new retirement destination. Maybe the nation could house all our homeless there since it's so cheap. There you go! Make WV the rehab/mental institution/homeless authority of The US. Wouldn't you like to have the money per person CA spends to NOT address the homeless? We just laid out $20 billion and can't account for any of it.
Nope keep your liberal ideas there
@williamanderson6006 I think it's more of an idea meant to consolidate the liberal viewpoint I stead of them spreading it through the country as they have been for years
If you audited Newsome's bank account you would probably find the majority of the missing funds . Also maybe in overseas she'll companies.
Very nice video! Everything was first-rate: your narration; the drone shots; the music (and its level); the story; the whole thing.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was such a good episode! I had no idea about what all went on down there, other than the bank. I’m so glad you talked about that!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything made about the Keystone Bank, so this was really cool to see. Phenomenal work, Josh👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
@@alysonrdiaz it's quite a big story for a little town. Thx for watching!
I was in Keystone in the early 90s for a construction job. It was a really small, nearly dried up town in 1993. There was a tastee freeze there i think i recall. You're in another world when youre up there.
Just subscribed and greatly enjoyed the video. I was born in Mingo county and grew up across the river, so I love to see such well done pieces on local history. I’ll be watching going forward and catching up on previous videos.
I’m half Appalachian this way of life was in my moms family for generations from brothels to corrupt cops coil mining boot legging cans who knows what else my dads family was totally different from Massachusetts my mom left Virginia at 16 ran off with my dad who came from money and I was raised in north shore Massachusetts and visited my moms family later in life in Pennington gap Va . The family I met were all nice people all the women were RN nurses and the men worked for CSX or local government none of them were hillbilly’s that you see on tv but they were definitely country folk and a lot of the men died of black lung and were treated by their own family members who worked in the black lung clinics which are still there in 2024
Amazingly
Half Appalachian? There's no such thing! You're either Appalachian, or you're not. You were either born and raised there, or you weren't. Appalachian isn't a race of people. It's a way of life. Therefore, Appalachian is not passed on through DNA. Your mother may have been Appalachian, but you are not.
Signed,
A true Appalachian
Sounds like the coal towns in northern Pennsylvania. I pass through on my motorcycle, and I know that I can't really imagine their lives. The evidence of money lingers in grand old buildings, but they're all run down now. The miners made their livings but never were rich. I pass by the one hospital in the area and see the men with walkers and oxygen tanks sitting out in the sun, black lung for many of them I guess.
Makes one question how your dad Met Your Mother 🤔
@@shane8915how is you mum and wife same person maybe. Squeal like a pig for me boy wwweeeee wwweeeeee
@@shane8915 I liked it better when they just called us "hillbillies".
I've seen a podcast about this place, but you fill in the blanks. Thanks. Good show.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Think about the diseases that flowed through that town 🤢🤢🤢🤮
Just like every city in the U.S.
and babies that were tossed away, thrown in the trash or however they disposed of them. think it
wasn't also big business? another HUGE side effect of "doing business" "having fun" and "making money"
and women died in the process of getting rid of the "side effects" of doing business this way (brothels, etc.).
no one talks about this but it's a fact, many lives lost and families decimated.
Not half as bad as San Francisco
@@JustMe-uu3bh A small piece of the mega puzzle that created.. ''The Greatest Country the World has ever known", where the entire third world (including some of the more prosperous) is gambling all, just to cross the borders, and get in today... ;]
@@blogengeezer4507 TPTB have another plan and if we talk about it much we get censored, so let's just say the W race is targeted (Ishraeeel does not consider it's people W but olive, remember that) because we are the biggest threat, we are most of the contributors of art, science and will fight for our freedoms, also we usually believe in God, so "they" hate us, they want our land, and because we are so infiltrated (several heroes tried to tell us and died for this act) they are swamping us with 3rd world to destroy, "diversify" and BREED US OUT, have you not seen the programming in commercials? blacks with white, or brown with white, NO WHITE MALES. there's a reason and it's brainwashing, repeat, rinse, repeat and then it becomes "normal", get it?
wakey wakey America, our time is fast approaching at our door......choose God so He can destroy our enemies........He said He would heal our land if we repent and come back to Him.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
I was 18 maybe when I started seeing these poker machines in the local gas stations. It was in Harrison County WV. I didn’t pay them much thought and just thought of them like a video game. I learned that places started paying the winners out. Some it was a gift card for the store and cold hard cash. Even when they tried to crack down on them, they succeeded. To the point that some of these places removed products and built rooms to house even more machines. My dad loved them. He won a good bit, but I’m sure he spent more than he won. He accepted that and it had a relaxing quality for him. Years later he bought his own and would sit and play it all the time. It’s crazy how big those machines got. Little gambling stores popped up all over the place. I looked in a couple and it was just rows of these machines. Between the machines, drugs, and out of state fracking companies WV isn’t the same place. While I never saw a brothel, I did see workers earning money to support habits.
I have lived just outside a military base in Oklahoma all my life. For decades until urban renewal came to the community. In a 12 square block area, over 100 bars and pool halls, pawn shops, cheap jewelry store, anda numerous hotels that rent rooms by the hour. I remember asking my father who owned all the buildings. He stated you can find the owners in three huge churches every Sunday morning sitting on the front rows of the church pews in front of the preachers.
Sad but true many places.
Too much Money corrupts.
What a terrific documentary.
Instant fan!!
Great video, now I'm going to watch more of your videos.
Awesome, glad you enjoyed it!
I have read that in some coal mining towns the miners were not paid in U S funds, only in company coupons where the wives could shop and pay for groceries in these so called company dollars. That way , the miners were held hostage to stay where they were , and the company basically had the workers work for free since they too owned the town stores. Talk about modern slavery.
Tennessee Williams sang about it, probably before you were born..
"I owe my soul to the Company Store".
Textile mills did the same thing, too.
Check out the movie "Norma Rae"..
My late MIL talked about her husband being paid in store credits. Some at least until the 1950's. Sorry, I didn't ask al of the details. But it was in this area.
My mom's side of the family is from Meybeury, Anawalt, Keystone, & Gary. There are also kin over toward Pie in Mingo County. There is a lot of history, but a lot of seedy stories that were never meant to see the light of day.
@Mr._Anderpson totally understand, but there's a systemic issue here that does deserve some sunlight. Thanks for watching!
My mom would pronounce it annie walt
Very Interesting Josh as always so much history good or bad we should know and learn from. Thanks so much my favorite channel!
@dalegooch4616 wow, thank you! I am very humbled by your kind words.
Peaked my interest. I just moved to a small town in WV. It’s cool to see the history of other small towns. I will subscribe. Thanks!
Please, look through my episodes or watch my show on PBS called Hometowns. Thanks for following along and good luck with the new move!
How are you enjoying the move?
It is a shame but sin and corruption are found everywhere, yes even in my home state of West Virginia! We have a lot of beauty and good in our state as well as dark and evil. If we do not accurately state history and learn from it, we are then doomed to repeat it. Just some thoughts from this girl who lives in the mountains of West Virginia. Blessings to all.😁
Very nice production. Great story! Thank you!
I've rode through Keystone many times on my bike, I knew it had once been a thriving coal town but did not know this, the poverty is heart breaking to see, mind blowing it was once that rich. Great Job !
Talking about prostitution and using the line, "there was always a way to make a buck, you just had to be willing to get your hands dirty ", is priceless. I hate to tellyou honey , but it wasn't their hands they were getting dirty. 😂😂😂
Oh, I know 😉
🤡
Hands get used too it appears hence the dirtyness but not for long.
An excellent mini-doc, good job.
Great video and incredibly interesting story. Narration, scoring and videography superb!
Thank you! I also have a new national show on PBS now that I direct and host called Hometowns. Check it out, season 2 starts this coming week!
I remember my mom telling me that when she was a Young girl in the 40s she was a census taker. One day she knocked on the door, and the lady answered. She asked how many people lived in the house. And the woman answered, “Well, there is Annie, Betty, Susan, Paula, Vicki, Carla, and Dora”. It was at that moment that she realized she was at a whorehouse😂
Colorado and New Mexico had many wild towns where brothels and lawlessness reigned. Las Vegas, New Mexico, Animas Forks, and Brekenridge were some of the wildest of the wild west. I love tbese kind of stories.
Petersburg which was memory holed and changed to Englewood.
'Phoenix' New Mexico. US Marshall/Sheriff Dee Harkey ran 'em all out. Carlsbad (Three blocks north of 'Phoenix,.. today Stevens Hotel) NM celebrates Dee Harkey day.. ref family of.. "Mean as Hell' published UNM 1960's?
@blogengeezer4507 There is a book I am getting called Las Vegas, New Mexico, the wildest of the Wild West.
I visited Las Vegas, NM. The streets were eerily quiet, complete with tumbleweeds, in the mid 1990's. We stayed in a old west hotel. Elegant. Historic. Now I wonder what went on there.
@mariebussinger6565 I haven't seen tumbleweed, but I do know it was once more dangerous than Dodge City and larger than Denver at the time. Wild doesn't begin to describe what went on in town. Brothels, saloons, and gambling were prevalent. Shootouts and duels in the streets were normal. The townspeople dragged a man out of the jail and hung him on scaffolding at the Plaza because they could not wait for him to be executed the next day. To achieve this,a man went up on one of the hills and fired rounds to get the police up there. A lone jailer was left in charge and was overrun.
Doc Halliday was a dentist before opening a saloon and was run out of town because he shot a man. The townspeople were fed up with the lawlessness that had been going on for decades and started taking action.
The Costeneda Hotel is the original Harvey House, which is considered to be the first hotel chain and is located next to the Amtrack station. It is grand and owned by the same man who owns the Historic Plaza Hotel. The significance is that President Teddy Roosevelt held a reunion of his Rough Rider regiment at the Hotel. The Rough Riders were his old calvary unit, and they fought in the Spanish American war.
Lad Vegas is known as Hollywood of the West because of the many westerns that have been filmed there. It was called Calumet in Red Dawn, and one building was painted with a big mural and a cowgirl saying Howdy. Welcome to Calumet. I love everything about Las Vegas.
We have a McDowall co here in N.C. its right beside the county I live in. And the joke name is Methdowell co. It even looks like the county here. Like its stuck in time and will let a building fall in before clearing it off the property. I'm amazed at how they look so similar.
Sodom and Gomorrahs sin was homosexuality not prostitution.
it was both. All of the above, so to speak.
@@corerlt I appreciate your thoughtful response, but the MAIN sin that God wanted us to know about was homosexuality, that’s why He put all the emphasis on the men of Sodom trying to rape the two men (angels) who were guests in Lots home.
jesus wept
It's a good bet that S&G were destroyed because of rampant Nephilim genetics. Before you say no, stop and think about it
"There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel." Deuteronomy 23:17 KJV
There were Israelites dwelling in Sodom and Gommorrah also.
I love your episodes and I look forward to them.
You tell history very well and make it very interesting !
My grandfather was a mayor of Keystone....I spent many summers there before it flooded and was basically wiped out. We all heard stories of cinder bottom....my mom grew up in Eckman Hollow (er)....
Top-notch presentation about the history of Keystone. One word I would use to describe the landscape of WV would be the word, "Beautiful". A place worth visiting.
Very informative & interesting video & I enjoyed reading all the comments from some of the descendants of early generational families, history is a wonderful thing and to carry on that all important history is so damn needed & so important too…way cool learning about small town life, keep up the great work man! 🤙🏼
@ 2:38 explains our current system of government perfectly
You mean our current system of policing.
Shouldn't be too shocked that a town like this existed in WV; they existed all over the US into the late 1960s, when there was a simultaneous crackdown across the country, and new flourishing vice cities in Las Vegas and Reno. Many were connected to mining and railroads, and when those sectors crashed in the 1960s, these little freewheeling towns died with them. Train companies ran specials to Keystone just like every airline flies to Vegas.
Alot of people were on the take before the bank went down-employees, sheriffs, you name it.
U hit the nail on the head when u said... "the cops guard the system", I have yet to meet an honest cop! Gr8 content.
We’re headed for more if trump wins and gives cops complete immunity as he has 100% stated. I heard him and saw him say it so not made up. Truly scary.
Since there are no dishonest cops in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. journalists have to come to West Virginia to report on crooked cops. Either that, or, reporting on crooked cops in West Virginia is safer.
Narrator: telling so many terrible things that happened in this town.
Me: just can't stop to admire the beautiful sites of this town.
Southwest Germany is waving a Hand. 💯👍🙋♂
Guten Tag freunde
Hello, from Southwestern USA .🙋♂️
👍🏽
o/
So THAT'S where "The Keystone bank scandal "occurred! PS, thanks for live voice, very good narration!
Fascinating! I feel sorry for those left who would just like to have a town of some kind. I noticed that there isn't even a grocery store there. It's a beautiful setting...Thanks for the video and story.
Man, another ruined town in "Coal Appalachia" (I hail from the part of Appalachia that has no coal - thank you, God, or geology or whomever!). Driving through West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky just tears at you heart, when you see these towns built/torn apart by coal mining and the coal companies, and so many people there struggling just to make ends meet. America's Third World - and not that far from Washington, in miles. Shame on us. Prosperity comes for a while, a decade or two, then they're left to fend for themselves. It's a bit astonishing to think that a town's biggest claim to fame came as a center of vice and brothels almost a century ago. Wikipedia notes that 65% of Keystone today is African-American... possibly a link to its history and its role in those gritty years? Was there a racist taint to "Cinder Bottom" as well? Police corruption? Sure... that often goes hand-in-hand with racial exploitation. Or exploitation of women in general. Worth considering. How much of this story told here is truth, how much fiction? Was it bravado, or despair all the way through? Keystone is in some ways an anomaly in WV, but also typical. Coal mining gone or going... the nearest source of good jobs far away. Not much hope. I don't view these kind of films as "vice" videos as some have commented. I see them more as an indictment of how some regions in America are being left behind, right there in plain sight. Thank you for the video, though it made me sad to watch.
I think this is perhaps one of the most thoughtful comments I have ever received. Thank you.
First time visiting your channel. You did an excellent job! You kept my attention the whole time (which is quite a feat)!
Inspiration for John Denver’s “Country Roads”
1:30 holy smokes, that's a concept I've only seen explored in fiction. sending workers via direct trainline to a brothel to immediately spend their earnings was part of the dystopian setting of 'Mother 3'. wild.
I am so glad that I came across your channel! You have a new subscriber!
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@theresahs5956 glad you're here!
Good narration and scripting. Interesting history.
The sound track is fabulous.
I had a friend who was from Keystone, his family moved to Florida when he was young. One grandfather was a train conductor & the other had an automobile dealership. Every Summer he spent with his train conductor grandfather & visited the other family members. He graduated from college in Florida & taught school in Savannah, GA for a number of years & then Fayette Co, GA schools where he eventually retired. He was living in Senoia, GA during this time. He played the piano & organ at Senoia United Methodist Church for about 20+ years & also was the music director. He was a wonderful musician! He also operated a gift shop in Senoia, called Table Talk. He never told me about the seedy side of Keystone. He passed away in March 2023. His name was Jim Preece.
RIP.
My great grandmaw was from Keystone and played with a lot of organs as well
That generation is nicknamed : The silent generation they don't talk same with my late Mom and Dad. "
R.I.P.
@@johnezzard680organs as in the ones that make music ?
You could tell the same tale about a lot of towns back in that time. Rough days.
@alvinmarcus5780 elements yes, but not exactly. This one had quite the distinctives!
The hills are beautiful
And to think they all went to church every Sunday! Time & mankind has never change. 💯
Myself and a friend of mine spent one night in jail in Keystone. We hitchhiked down there from Princeton to see what we could get into. We couldn't get a ride out of there and it was very cold, a cop took us to the jail and let us spend the night. Next morning when we were hitching out of there, two deputies pull over and ask us about a robbery that had taken place that night in Cinder Bottom. We were glad for two reasons that we were in jail that night, one it was very cold, and that jail felt good, two we had a good alibi. That was in 1962! I've done some work down in that country since then.
I was just there a few weeks ago and seen that abandoned/ non functional cop car that town would have been neat to see 100 years ago. Its pretty sad looking now.
When you started out talking about this place, it started to remind me of an infamous town of my youth. It was Hurley, Michigan. There were a lot of stories about that place.
" For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.".
The spring of 1998 I was working in South Charleston WV & stopped @ the McDonald's every morning on my way to work Mon-Fri. There was a sociable older retired regular customer who told me he had just sold all his stocks which had done very well & found a safe place to park his money & it would gain interest at well above all other money market rates. He had grown nervous about the stock markets huge gains Yep, that safe place was the First National Bank of Keystone.
How sad 😔
Love the train cameos 👍🏼
Steven Segal did a few movies about corruption in West Virginia...
Now we know those movies came from
True stories...
Thanks 😊.
Fascinating! Your research is impressive and photography, superb!
Someone, somewhere, definitely got stabbed to death by a group of prostitutes whether at work or in the woods.
Horrifying thought.
Thank you for pronouncing _"Appalachia"_ correctly.
This same story could be told in almost every small southern town, give or take a tale or two
West Virginia is literally the most beautiful state I've had a chance to visit. Sadly, the residents are their own worst enemies.
Please dont stereotype WV residents. I have lived here all my life, make an honest living, have a masters degree, and a close loving family.
Extremely well done. Subscribed.
It might be a good place to live now. I’m Scots - Irish. My ancestors lived in Wheeling, VA. (now WV). My 5x grandfather, William McWilliams, fought in the Revolutionary War.
My family came to the Charleston area in West Virginia in 1640. Called Virginia back then. The court records from back then are amazingly accurate. They were taxed in a spoon, fork, table, etc. fined fir not attending church.
why do you have to mention your, Scots - Irish, NO ONE CARES
Excellent video; history portrayed succinctly and videography was wonderful. New subscriber.
Okay, we don't live far. we're "up there" and "out there." what don't we know about the history? Mining was a HUGE deal for decades. Dirty cops....and politicians. *sigh* As ever it was. Mining was miserable, and they had to figure out who to drain miners of every last cent they earned on top of it. I don't blame the girls; they travel to where the money is. If there is a coal mine, or a diamond mine....there are girls out there to take the excess. The organization (by the police/politicians) was horrifying. Leave it to them to profit in any side ay possible. So the miners pay the prostitutes? Okay, let's strip the prostitutes of cash. They follow the money to the very desperate end. Unfortunitely, like "legalization" has taught us, it is the open door to claim every cent they can get in the process. Okay, so, illegal weed as $100/ounce. when it became legal, it opened the door to sell $300 ounces. Everybody stuck their hand in, desperately grasping for coins. It wasn't about weed, or prostitutes. It is about sheer blind greed.
Wow love the feel of this video. The music from fire down below. You have a great speaking voice. Awesome video.
Thank you so much!
Looks like a Beautiful place with a Bad Past i hope they straighten it up and use the place for historical teachings and decent folks to continue to live ❤
My father and his family were from Oceana, WV; there since the 1600's. I am a direct descendant of the towns founder John Cooke. My father's family name is Christian. I've never been to WV but I feel a connection. Sad to hear of the sin and corruption.
Digging all your content, keep up the good work!!!
Very well done and fascinating! Lived in Prestonsburg Kentucky for many years before retiring in Florida. Thanks for taking me back to Appalachia for a bit.
Color me subscribed.
Glad you enjoyed it!
So nothing has changed, except now it is national, with the Politicians and Government being in charge.
I worked in the coalfields in keystone in the 1980s.it was still.booming.i went through there 8 years ago and it was sad.nothing left.
Once again this video is amazing and well done. Wow didn’t know about the bank issue. So cool.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I grew up in a little rural Florida town 40 miles from Tampa. Then the population exploded and now our town is basically a crowded suburb of Tampa. I look at these little towns and think they look like like such friendly, quaint little places, perfect to retire in. But then comes the stories and ruins them for me. 😅
@@AFloridaSon
I moved to Charleston from Clearwater Florida. I lived there for decades, loved it until the mass immigration. That story about keystone was long ago, don’t let it spoil it for you. West Virginia is a beautiful state with very kind people. Low crime.
Keystone needs to bring the brothels back
Teste tourism.
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