Page 11 - A Narrative of the History of Roanoke Virginia

New information about the history of Roanoke
Big Lick to Roanoke from 1874-part Three

By Richard Mundy
Sources:refer to New Research Sources-previously posted

To refresh where we left off in part Two…Frederick Kimball, who had already read mineral
surveys commissioned by the former owners of the SVRR, purchased a hundred copies of
Boyd’s book. Access to the coalfields, he realized, would not only provide the coke
necessary to fire iron furnaces in Virginia, it would also give the N&W and SVRR a cheap
source of fuel as well as a valuable cargo to ship North. If only he could, with the resources
of Boyd’s research, locate these fields, he might be on to something. At the time, because of
the inaccessibility of the territory, much of the land was neither under contract or priced well
below market value.

So as promised, this installment involves the otherwise unsung heroines of Powhatan’s
princess, Mrs Frederick Kimball and a very astute decision of Mr. Clarence Clark.All
significant turning points in the fortunes of Roanoke and the N&W railway.

In May 1881, Kimball, well known for his “hands on” management style, decided to travel to
the southwestern Virginia region with his wife and two Clark & Company associates to find a
rail route into the Highlands. The inaccessibility of the region necessitated making the trek
on horseback as the only reliable means of being able to survey all of the territory into the
back country of Tazewell County, Virginia.

Their decision to search the area on horseback provided them with a close-up view of the
land, the topography and the consistency of the area they were trans versing (far more
intimate than looking at maps or photographs). After covering much territory, Kimball’s keen
eye for detail began recognizing certain structures that looked familiar to him.

Dismounting, the party began studying the ground more closely and they suddenly realized
they had stumbled across across a wide outcropping that looked different from the
surrounding area. Closer examination led them to the surprising and unbelievable
conclusion that they had discovered a vein of coal, right on the surface up at the top of
Flat-Top Mountain.

Further study revealed that the outcropping of coal covered an area up to twelve feet wide!
Looking from its inception and off in the distance, they could not determine how far an area
the vein covered.

While the men were exuberant with incredulity at their find, Mrs. Kimball calmly suggested
that they name the find after Powhatan’s princess daughter, Pocahantas. The men readily
agreed, as later did Clarence Clark of Clark & Company, the owners of the N&W.