Whitby, West Virginia

Whitby
Unincorporated community

Postmark from Whitby, West Virginia
Whitby

Location within the state of West Virginia

Coordinates: 37°39′58″N 81°11′3″W / 37.66611°N 81.18417°WCoordinates: 37°39′58″N 81°11′3″W / 37.66611°N 81.18417°W
Country United States
State West Virginia
County Raleigh
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 25939
GNIS feature ID 1555966[1]

Whitby is an unincorporated community and coal town in the Winding Gulf Coalfield of southern West Virginia within Raleigh County, United States. Originally, Whitby was named Stahl. Before 1919, Bowyer was another accepted town name. By 1919, the town name of Whitby was being used. As of 1927, Whitby was the official name used by the United States Post Office.[2] The post office[3] closed in June 1988.[4] During the years of 1917-1982 Whitby is documented to have mined 8,995,174 tons of coal by the Bowyer Smokeless Coal Company, Sterling Smokeless Coal Company, Smith and Stover Coal Company and the R&F Coal Company.[5]

Demographics

Whitby is part of the census-designated place of Coal City. At its height of coal production in the 1940s, Whitby was noted to have a population of 400.[6]

Notable residents

Alexander Halstead,[7] was the first settler at Whitby and is noted to have resided there during the creation of Raleigh County, West Virginia in 1850.

External links

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Whitby, West Virginia
  2. ↑ WHITBY Post Office History
  3. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Whitby West Virginia post office
  4. ↑ http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postmasterfinder/welcome.htm
  5. ↑ West Virginia Office of Miners' Health Safety and Training Homepage
  6. ↑ Wood, Jim (1994). Raleigh County West Virginia. Beckley, WV: BJW Printing and Office Supplies. p. 650.
  7. ↑ http://files.usgwarchives.net/wv/raleigh/news/1850-60.txt