Jodie, West Virginia

Jodie, West Virginia
—  Unincorporated community  —
Jodie, West Virginia
Coordinates:
Country United States
State West Virginia
County Fayette
Elevation 705 ft (215 m)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 26690
Area code(s) 304 & 681
GNIS feature ID 1554812[1]

Jodie is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. Jodie is located along the Gauley River, at the mouth of Rich Creek, 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Gauley Bridge.[2] Due to its proximity to the county line, Jodie has a post office with a Nicholas County ZIP code of 26690.[3]

Contents

History

The first houses in the community were built by local logging companies in the late 1800s. The first post office was established in 1894, naming the town Imboden. The name of the town was changed to Jodie (the nickname of local congressman Joseph H. Gaines), in 1910. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad established a station in the community in 1912, named Bryce. In 1915, the Gauley Mountain Coal Company established Jodie as a company town, utilizing existing lumber company houses as well as building additional ones to give the community its current look. A company store, movie theater, and boarding house was also built for the town, but they are now long gone. The houses were sold off to residents in the mid 1940s, and the local mines closed less than ten years later, forcing residents to commute elsewhere for employment.

Community

Jodie is home to two churches; Jodie Baptist Church on the riverfront and Jodie Church of God located in "New-Town". The town cemetery is named Rich Creek. The annual Jodie Reunion is held every summer to welcome residents both past and present.

Transportation

At one time, Jodie was connected to West Virginia Route 39 via ferry across the Gauley River. After the loss of the ferry in the early 1950s, residents were forced to rely on a 1926 C&O railroad bridge converted for automobile traffic until the C.D. Coleman Bridge was completed in the mid-2000s.

References