George Lafayette Carter (1857–1936) was an American entrepreneur known as "the empire builder of southwest Virginia." His ventures led to the development and modernization of many parts of the southern Appalachian region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Biography
George Lafayette Carter was born on January 10, 1857, in
Hillsville, Virginia
Hillsville is a town in Carroll County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,897 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County.
Geography
Hillsville is located in central Carroll County at (36.758814, −80.734510). U ...
. The first of nine children, he learned at a young age that farm life was not suitable for his ambitions. As a child, he read many great works including
The Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
and
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
's autobiography.
Carter worked at the Hillsville General Store before pursuing a career of selling iron ore properties with the Wythe Lead and Zinc Company in
Austinville, Virginia
Austinville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on the New River in southern Wythe County, Virginia, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 119. New River Trail State Par ...
. He then found work with the Dora Furnace Company in
Pulaski, Virginia
Pulaski is a town in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. The population was 9,086 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Pulaski County.
Pulaski is part of the Blacksburg– Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
...
, buying small mines throughout the area to provide coke for the furnaces. Carter would found the Tom's Creek Coal and Coke Company and in 1898, combine his operations to form the Carter Coal and Iron Company before forming the Virginia Iron, Coal, and Coke Company headquartered in
Bristol, Virginia, in 1899.
With the help of New York City financiers, he would also form the Clinchfield Coal Company, which owned 300,000 acres of land throughout southwest Virginia. Carter's most reputable creations would be that of the Carolina, Clinchfield, and Ohio Railway and the development of the town of
Kingsport, Tennessee. The creation of the railroad would further develop and open up the southern Appalachian region.
Carter would spend the years of 1907 and 1920 living in
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. Joh ...
, where he helped in the creation of a state teacher's college in 1911, known today as
East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...
. Despite Carter's fame, he kept himself out of the headlines by owning the ''Bristol Herald'', known today as the ''Bristol Herald-Courier''.
Carter would also plan and create the coal towns of
Coalwood, West Virginia
Coalwood is an unincorporated coal town in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. The coal mine in Coalwood reached its peak in the 1950s and ceased production on October 1, 1986. As of the 1990 census—the last time the town was counte ...
, and
Caretta, West Virginia
Caretta is an unincorporated community located in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. Caretta was named for the transposed syllables in the name of Mrs. Etta Carter, the wife of George Lafayette Carter.Homer Hickam, ''We Are Not Afra ...
. Coalwood would later become famous as the boyhood home of the Rocket Boys and
Homer Hickam
Homer Hadley Hickam Jr. (born February 19, 1943) is an American author, Vietnam War veteran, and a former NASA engineer who trained the first Japanese astronauts. His 1998 memoir ''Rocket Boys'' (also published as ''October Sky'') was a ''New ...
. Other operations would include the Carter Coal and Dock Company which operated in New York, Boston, Providence, and Bridgeport. Carter maintained offices throughout the eastern part of the country, and died in
Washington, D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, in 1936. He is buried in
Hillsville, Virginia
Hillsville is a town in Carroll County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,897 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carroll County.
Geography
Hillsville is located in central Carroll County at (36.758814, −80.734510). U ...
.
In 2007, the George L. Carter Railroad Museum opened on the
East Tennessee State University
East Tennessee State University (ETSU) is a public research university in Johnson City, Tennessee. Although it is part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee, the university is governed by an institutional Board of Tr ...
campus.
References
1857 births
1936 deaths
People from Carroll County, Virginia
People from McDowell County, West Virginia
People from Johnson City, Tennessee
People from Sullivan County, Tennessee
East Tennessee State University
19th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American businesspeople
Businesspeople from Virginia
Businesspeople from West Virginia
Businesspeople from Tennessee
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