Stonega is a

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

and

coal town A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch, is a type of company town or mining community established by the employer, a mining company, which imports workers to the site to work the mineral find. The company develops it and provides reside ...

located in

Wise County, Virginia Wise County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county was formed in 1856 from Lee, Scott, and Russell Counties and named for Henry A. Wise, who was the Governor of Virginia at the time. The county seat is in Wise. Hi ...

, United States. It is part of the

Big Stone Gap, Virginia Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,254 at the 2020 census. History The community was formerly kn ...

micropolitan area. The community was founded in 1895 to provide housing and coking facilities for the Virginia Coal and Iron Company before being leased to the Stonega Coke and Coal Company in 1902. The community was owned and operated as a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Their post office closed in 2002.

History

Stonega was founded by J.K. Taggart in 1895 as "Pioneer," a name chosen because it was the first commercial mine and coking plant in Wise County. The name was changed in 1896 to reflect the town's proximity to Stone Gap, a pass through the mountains between Virginia and Kentucky. That same year, Taggart was killed during a mining accident. The town was owned and maintained by the Virginia Coal and Iron Company until 1902, when the Stonega Coke and Coal Company assumed control of the operation and leased the land. There were no major strikes at Stonega or the surrounding camps until 1937. "After being slowed by the depression of 1893, Virginia Coal and Iron Company began building Pioneer, its first and model

Coal town A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch, is a type of company town or mining community established by the employer, a mining company, which imports workers to the site to work the mineral find. The company develops it and provides reside ...

, in 1895, around the mine opening at the headwaters of Callahan Creek. Built using local timber, Pioneer straddled the flat bottom land of the creek between Bluff Spur and Nine Mile Spur Mountains, which offered narrow, winding land on which to construct the upper coke ovens, railroad tracks, homes and service buildings needed by such a remote community. By 1896, the new colliery or coal mine opened and was renamed Stonega, a contraction of Stone and Gap. The company owned

Interstate Railroad The Interstate Railroad was a railroad in the southwest part of the U.S. state of Virginia. It extended from the Clinchfield Railroad at Miller Yard in northeastern Scott County north and west to Appalachia and north to the main yard at Andove ...

connected the mine with the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of ...

, six miles away at

Appalachia, Virginia Appalachia () is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,754 at the 2010 census. History The Appalachia post office was established in 1898. The community was named for the surrounding Appalachian Mountains. The Der ...

Demographics

Stonega first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2020 U.S. Census.

References

Unincorporated communities in Wise County, Virginia Unincorporated communities in Virginia Census-designated places in Wise County, Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia Coal towns in Virginia Populated places established in 1895 1895 establishments in Virginia {{WiseCountyVA-geo-stub