Kayford Mountain, WV
Kayford Mountain
Thursday, August 31st, 2006
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Kayford Mountain and its surrounding areas have been the home of Larry Gibson’s family since the 1700′s. More than three hundred of his relatives are buried in the family cemetery there, and when he grew up on Kayford’s beautiful slopes, the mountains rose in every direction from his house. He treasures some of the best memories of his life from those days. He recalls that “it wasn’t the fast life then, it was the good life.”
In 1986, the mountaintop removal started. Over the next 20 years, “the slow motion destruction of Kayford Mountain has been continuous – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” Arch Coal Inc., Horizon Natural Resources and Massey Energy have flattened the mountains surrounding Larry’s house into a 12,000 acre “pancake.” The mine comes to within 200 feet of the family cemetery, and the blasts make the ground shake. Stray rocks from the explosions land near the gravestones and scar the ground. As one visitor noted, “gone is the peace and stillness that the old cemetery once harbored. For Gibson and other family members, mountaintop mining is practically raising the dead, while burying the living.”
March 13th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
This is quite sad. My mother’s family all lived up Cabin Creek, and I often fear that the remains of many of our deceased relatives (namely in the Carbon Cemetery) will be “lost.” It’s sad from a historical perspective as well. My ancestors used Kayford Mountain as a route when they journeyed from White Oak, Boone Co., and settled up Cabin Creek. That route is now gone…
February 7th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
My family lived on Cabin Creek for many years,Kayford,Eskdale and Acme .I can not begin to tell you how I felt the first time I heard about this.It truly makes my heart hurt,to know such a beautiful,peaceful place as this is being devastated by such greed.
I
April 9th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I live in Cabin Creek and I am tired of haveing our mountains mined off. It is not going to be to long before all of Cabin Creek is going to be gone and I planed on living in Cabin Creek for ever and I wanted my children to grow up in Cabin Creek.
???????????I LOVE CABIN CREEK 4EVER??????????