Forgotten Souls of the Red Ash Island Cemetery, New River Gorge National Park
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ย. 2024
- [first views of this abandoned cemetery begin at 5:25 of this video--the first 5:25 is the hike to the cemetery with sites along the way]
The mostly forgotten and abandoned Red Ash Island Cemetery along the New River is located about 1.3 miles upriver on the Southside Trail from the Brooklyn Campground/Mine Ruins in the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. A Google Earth view of the "Island" is included at the beginning for those wishing to hike to this cemetery. If you make this hike, you will definitely want to visit the Red Ash Coke Ovens as well as the cemetery (see links below). The cemetery includes the mostly unmarked graves of victims of the 1900 Red Ash Mine disaster, victims of the influenza outbreak in the late 1910's, as well as graves of others who once lived in the coal camps in the area. A good history of the cemetery can be found at: wvexplorer.com...
My other videos of places mentioned in this video include:
1. Red Ash Coke Ovens (1/2 mile from the cemetery): • Abandoned Red Ash, WV ...
2. Fire Creek Coke Ovens (on opposite side of the New River):
• Old Coke Ovens on Fire...
3. Pennbrook Coal Camp (on opposite side of the New River):
• Ghostly Ruins of Pennb...
I remember you, your name is on this moss covered stone.
I remember you when I read your name and I see your face in my mind.
I remember how old you were when you left this Earth.
I remember.
Some stones have no name, no date, no face,
but I remember you anyway.
I heard your story when I was a boy,
about how the mine blew out and shot coal cars
clear across the river
along with the mules
and the men.
And now, here you are.
It's quiet here, it's a good place to pass eternity.
The river is near by and the trees have grown huge
since you were laid here.
The birds sing and the coal train still blows its horn as it passes.
I miss you, though I never knew you
but I miss you now,
now that I stand by your stone,
now that the old stories have become real
now that time has passed on to tomorrow.
You are not forgotten, in this gentle place
where you can rest in peace,
here by the river that knows no time.
Fond memories of that area, old stomping grounds for a lot of Fayette County natives. Before the river started being taken over by river rafting industry, and then the park service, my in-laws and I use to go there on the weekends and fish off Red Ash for the entire weekend. Caught many channel cats and blue cats out of the New River, not to mention bass. Never had to really take any bait, you could always flip rocks and find hellgrammites at certain times of the year, and other things to catch fish with. Once the rafting industry took off, and then the park service got a hold of it, we stopped going. A lot of locals were very upset when the river became so popular and the park service took over.
Thank you for this! All my life I had heard about the cemetery on Red Ash Island, about the Blow-out and rails and cars and mules and men being blown clear across the gorge, about a mile. I've seen photos of rails stuck through trees on the other side of the river, across from the mine entrance. If you hike up there, you might still find some and some mine cars too. It was said that what they put in the graves was what they could find, no complete bodies. It was a gas explosion that set off a coal dust explosion that acted like a cannon, clearing everything out of the horizontal shaft. Death came quickly. Grief lasted a lifetime for the Wives and Children. The coal companies at the time, would evict a Widow from the company house, soon after the Worker had died, to make room for another Worker and his family. The coal companies represented the worst Capitalism could be, even more so than today. I was told that there was a statue put up on the island, naming all the dead Miners, I see that wasn't true. I was also told that Red Ash Island was declared off limits to visitors, to hide the truth and vanish the memory. That appears to be more like the truth. It seems a lonely place, but the mountains are filled with lonely places that once held life and work and dreams, now gone with the coal. Thank you again, I always wanted to see Red Ash Island and never did when I lived near there. It's much like what I expected.
Nice. Me and my girlfriend are history nerds and have talked about going here before. Now we'll know what to watch for to know when we're on it. :)
This is slightly spooky, sadly forgotten and intriguing! What was the cemetery like in the 1920’s -1930’s? Was it grassy or cleared out or was it much like it is now? Is the area of the country in Kentucky or Tennessee or West Virginia?
On my grandparents old farm home past their pasture I came across an old cemetery in the middle of the woods, I wish I could go back there again ..
??? WebsterHighlanders : just curious , is there any documentation in the County Courthouses ??? TFS 🤗
Findagrave has some documentation, but I don't know about courthouse records.
Love your video.
Thank you!