Preserving Pocahontas

These Marlinton Elementary pupils were among those who contributed $800 to the Buffalo Creek Flood Disaster Fund. This school contributed the largest amount of any school in Pocahontas County and received a set of World Book Encyclopedias for their efforts. Pictured from left to right: Danny Beverage, Lottie Buzzard, Debbie Cutlip, Andy Gibson, David Friel and Miss Alice Waugh, Principal. The Buffalo Creek flood was a disaster that occurred on February 26, 1972, when the Pittston Coal Company’s coal slurry impoundment dam #3, located on a hillside in Logan County, West Virginia, burst, four days after having been declared “satisfactory” by a federal mine inspector. A torrent of thick, murky water that claimed at least 118 lives, left seven persons missing, destroyed hundreds of homes, and left thousands homeless. (Archives, Marlinton Journal Press Photo, ID: PHP001980)

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

If you have historical records or photographs 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 are available.