Hurley is an unincorporated community in

Buchanan County, Virginia Buchanan County () is a United States county in far western Virginia, the only county in the state to border both West Virginia and Kentucky. The county is part of the Southwest Virginia region and lies in the rugged Appalachian Plateau porti ...

located at the convergence of County Routes 643, 646, 650, and 697, a short distance from the

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

state lines.

History

The Hurley post office was established in 1893. The community was probably named for Samuel Robert Hurley, a pioneer settler. Located at the mouth of Lester's Fork and along Knox Creek, it became a timbering center in Buchanan County and was the headquarters for the William M. Ritter Lumber Company as well as a station on the narrow-gauge BS&C (Big Sandy and Cumberland) railroad. Ritter ran Shay engines on the line for his large lumber mill there and a few passenger cars along with his freight cars until the Norfolk and Western railroad took it over in 1923, converting the rails to standard gauge and replacing the Shays with big non-geared steam engines to serve the emerging coal industry in the area. Hurley suffered devastating floods in 2002 which nearly wiped out the town.Hurley flood response hits high water mark
Emergency Management Update. Virginia Department of Emergency Management, June 2002. Retrieved on 2009-03-18. The recovery efforts resulted in an FBI and IRS investigation into alleged corruption surrounding the use of government funds.Big Coon Dog lawsuit trees little cash
. Hammack, Laurence. ''Roanoke Times''. June 7, 2008.

Schools

* Hurley High School *Hurley Elementary/Middle School

References

External links

* {{authority control Unincorporated communities in Buchanan County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia