Laneville is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Tucker County Tucker County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,762, making it West Virginia's fourth-least populous county. Its county seat is Parsons. The county was created in 1856 from a part of Ra ...

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 ...

, United States. It lies on Red Creek (a tributary of Dry Fork of Cheat River) along the southern border of the

Dolly Sods Wilderness The Dolly Sods Wilderness – originally simply Dolly Sods – is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, US, and is part of the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Dolly Sods ...

in the

Monongahela National Forest The Monongahela National Forest is a national forest located in the Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia, USA. It protects over of federally managed land within a proclamation boundary that includes much of the Potomac Highlands Regi ...

History

In 1902, the Parsons Pulp and Lumber Company installed a new

band saw A bandsaw (also written band saw) is a power saw with a long, sharp blade consisting of a continuous band of toothed metal stretched between two or more wheels to cut material. They are used principally in woodworking, metalworking, and lumb ...

mill on Red Creek. The lumber boom town of Laneville soon sprang up around it with a population that peaked at over 300 people. The community was named for Martin Lane, one of four incorporators of the Dry Fork Lumber Company. In 1909, after a local vote, Laneville was incorporated for the purpose of prohibiting

saloons Saloon may refer to: Buildings and businesses * One of the bars in a traditional British pub * An alternative name for a bar (establishment) * Western saloon, a historical style of American bar * The Saloon, a bar and music venue in San Francisc ...

. Saloon patrons had no difficulty, however, walking the short distance down the railroad tracks to the Wyoming Lumber Company settlement, established in 1907, where such businesses were allowed to flourish.Teter, Don (2011), ''Goin' Up Gandy: A History of the Dry Fork Region of Randolph and Tucker Counties, West Virginia'', 2nd Edition; Parsons, West Virginia:

McClain Printing Company The McClain Printing Company (MPC) is a printing company specializing in books of West Virginia history and lore. The company was incorporated in 1958 in Parsons, West Virginia as an outgrowth of the local weekly newspaper, the ''Parsons Advocate'' ...

, pg 106. It was into the mill at Laneville that most of the timber of the southern two thirds of Dolly Sods disappeared. The Laneville mill closed in 1920 after almost all the timber had been cut and its population dwindled. There were fewer than 50 residents by the mid-1970s.

References

Unincorporated communities in Tucker County, West Virginia Unincorporated communities in West Virginia {{TuckerCountyWV-geo-stub