Jenningson West Virginia Tucker County River Street View 1910 Real Photo Postcard
Jenningston, West Virginia, was a significant logging and sawmill town established in Randolph County around 1902, initially by the Blackwater Lumber Company and later overseen by the R.H. Jenningston Lumber Company. Located along the Black Fork of Cheat River, the town's existence was intrinsically tied to the exploitation of the vast timber resources within the Appalachian Mountains. River Street, as depicted, would have served as a residential area, housing the workers and their families crucial to the lumber operations.
Typical of early 20th-century company towns in Appalachia, Jenningston experienced its peak prosperity during the 1910s, with the Western Maryland Railway providing vital transportation for processed lumber. The town's economic life cycled with the timber industry; as accessible old-growth forests diminished, operations ceased in the 1930s, leading to the town's decline and eventual near abandonment, a common fate for many such resource-dependent communities.
Typical of early 20th-century company towns in Appalachia, Jenningston experienced its peak prosperity during the 1910s, with the Western Maryland Railway providing vital transportation for processed lumber. The town's economic life cycled with the timber industry; as accessible old-growth forests diminished, operations ceased in the 1930s, leading to the town's decline and eventual near abandonment, a common fate for many such resource-dependent communities.
