Preserving Pocahontas

These men are loading lumber from the sawmill at the Mill Point Prison Camp. On top of the lumber pile we can see employee Alva Johnson, second from left, wearing a dark coat and hat. This Federal Prison Camp was established in September 1938 for the purpose of furnishing labor to work on the section of State Route 39 from Mill Point to Richwood. The camp was located on top of Kennison Mountain in the Monongahela National Forest. Thirty employees ran the prison for 300 inmates. The camp closed in the summer of 1959. (Courtesy of Jean Johnson Mason, Pocahontas Co. Historical Society, ID: PHP000665)

Correction: Sources tell me that the teacher in last week’s photograph of the West Droop School is not Lela Hollandsworth.

Access the “Preserving Pocahontas” Digital Library at www.pocahontaspreservation.org or www.preservingpocahontas.org

If you have photographs or documents to be scanned for the county Historical Archive contact Preservation Officer B. J. Gudmundsson at 304-799-3989 or email info@pocahontaspreservation.org Prints of photographs from the archives are available.