The 1910 fire that let one coal baron buy an entire West Virginia Main Street

The 1910 Blaze That Leveled Bramwell’s Millionaire Main Street

Bramwell was once the richest small town in America, home to 19 millionaires in a town of just 4,000 people. Then came the frigid morning of January 7, 1910.

A fire broke out in a poolroom and quickly jumped to Main Street as fierce winds whipped the flames. Water froze as it hit burning buildings.

Brave telephone operator Susie Young stuck to her post, calling for help as the fire ate through 21 buildings. In just hours, the “Coalfield Capital” lost its commercial heart.

Yet from these ashes rose a new Bramwell, including America’s first copper roof that still gleams today in this historic coal town.

Bramwell Packed More Millionaires Per Capita Than Any Town in America

By 1910, tiny Bramwell crammed 14-19 millionaires among just 4,000 folks, making it America’s richest small town.

The booming Pocahontas coalfield turned this West Virginia community into the “Coalfield Capital” where coal bosses built fancy Victorian homes along tree-lined streets.

Norfolk & Western ran 14 passenger trains daily, bringing big-city goods to wealthy families. The Bank of Bramwell held more money per person than any bank in America.

Coal companies in the area gave jobs to over 100,000 miners, creating huge wealth for owners.

Voters Enjoyed Unseasonably Warm Weather Before Disaster

January 6, 1910 brought weirdly warm 55-degree temps and rain to Bramwell as folks voted. Mayor Waddell won his sixth term that day, with the same council members who already served five years straight.

The warm election day created a false calm before trouble hit. Coal fires burned low in homes thanks to the mild weather.

People went to bed that night with no clue that a dangerous cold front was moving in that would change their town forever.

Cold Snap Hit Town Overnight With Brutal Force

Weather reports for January 7 warned of “Snow and colder Friday… cold wave, high northwest winds.”

Temps dropped sharply after Thursday’s spring-like weather. Thirteen-year-old Goldie Rickmon bundled up against icy winds while walking to school that morning.

Coal fires burned higher in chimneys across town as people tried to fight the sudden cold. This big temperature swing plus strong winds created perfect conditions for a disaster nobody saw coming.

Flames Started Small But Grew Fast

Around mid-morning, fire broke out in Smith & O’Connor’s new poolroom and bowling alley on South River Street.

Officials later blamed an overheated chimney, though local gossip claimed a mouse might have chewed matches in an overcoat pocket. Students at Bramwell Graded School first heard about the fire while sitting in class.

The poolroom owners felt a crushing blow since their business was brand new, with dreams and money that burned up within minutes.

Wind Turned Small Fire Into Town-Destroying Inferno

Strong northwest winds quickly pushed flames from the poolroom to nearby Main Street buildings. Many structures caught fire almost at once as the wind-driven blaze jumped from building to building.

Coal companies sent miners to help fight the growing fire. School officials pulled “big boys” from classrooms to join the firefighting.

Girls at school could only watch from windows as black smoke rose from their once-pretty downtown.

Telephone Operator Became Unexpected Hero

Telephone operator Susie Young refused to leave her switchboard even with flames threatening the building around her. She stayed put, calling every agency and nearby town for help.

Young handled the entire emergency response by connecting fire departments and coal companies throughout the crisis. Newspapers called her “the heroine of the fire” for her bravery.

The phone system proved vital for organizing what became a huge regional effort to save the town.

Freezing Temperatures Made Fighting Fire Nearly Impossible

Firefighters faced a nightmare as they battled flames in the bitter cold.

Water froze almost instantly when it hit burning buildings, creating ice sheets instead of putting out flames. The extreme cold broke equipment and created dangerous conditions for volunteers.

Miners and townspeople worked hard despite numb fingers and faces.

This mix of high winds pushing flames and freezing temps stopping water created a perfect storm that beat all efforts to control the fire.

Main Street Vanished In Hours

Fire ate everything on Main Street from the train depot to Block Street by nightfall. Twenty-one buildings burned to the ground, including hardware stores, boarding houses, tailor shops, and restaurants.

Attorney offices and Mayor Waddell’s home and office burned up. Only the Bluestone Inn and coal baron Edward Cooper Sr.’s Victorian house survived.

Property losses reached between $100,000-$300,000, a huge sum for 1910 that would equal millions today.

Curious Onlookers Arrived By Special Trains

Special sightseeing trains ran from Bluefield station on Saturday and Sunday after the fire.

The January 8 Bluefield Daily Telegraph headline read “Practically every business in town of Bramwell devoured by furious flames. ” Hundreds of people rode north to see what remained of the famous millionaire town.

Where 21 buildings stood just days before, only foundations and rubble remained. Goldie Rickmon summed it up after school: “There was no more Bramwell.

Coal Baron Saw Opportunity In Destruction

Edward Cooper turned the disaster into a business chance by buying all remaining Main Street property. He bought everything from his house to the end of Main Street plus South River Street property where the fire began.

Cooper built his “new” Queen Anne mansion with what became America’s first copper roof. The impressive home featured orange brick from England and modern indoor plumbing uncommon for that time.

The Cooper house still stands today, owned by Cooper family descendants more than a century later.

Town Rose From Ashes Better Than Before

Bryant Pharmacy opened just before Christmas 1910 on a vacant corner lot, less than a year after the fire. Mrs. Jennie Pence quickly secured funds to rebuild her three-story brick hotel that had been lost.

The town rebuilt with carefully planned, fire-resistant brick buildings throughout the business district.

Some businesses like Roscoe Simpson’s barber shop moved to other areas of town rather than returning to Main Street.

Bramwell emerged from the disaster with a new generation of coal operators and much-improved fire safety standards that would protect the town for decades to come.

Visiting Bramwell Historic District, West Virginia

The Bramwell Historic District at 535 Hampton Lane preserves the story of America’s richest small town that rebuilt after the devastating 1910 fire.

You can explore 21 historic structures with self-guided walking tour brochures or join guided home tours on the second Saturday of June and December at Bramwell Presbyterian Church.

The Coal Heritage Interpretive Center operates from the reconstructed train depot, and you can arrange group tours through the Bramwell Millionaire Garden Club.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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