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History · Keystone

Keystone’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Keystone. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
6recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Keystone was founded in 1892 by the Keystone Coal & Coke Company. Keystone was then incorporated in 1909 by the Circuit Court of McDowell County. Its name is derived from the name of the coal and coke company operating at that point. The city was formerly known as Cassville.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Start Keystone’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Keystone’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Keystone

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BBBob BowmanSports
By decade

Keystone, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today6 photos
Keystone, 52 north from gas stationCommonsKeystone, 52 north from gas station2016Buildings along the railroad line through the distressed Appalachian Mountains town of Keystone in southern West Virgin…LOCBuildings along the railroad line through the distressed Ap…2015Old mining complex in the distressed Appalachian Mountains town of Keystone in southern West VirginiaLOCOld mining complex in the distressed Appalachian Mountains …2015Old mining complex in the distressed Appalachian Mountains town of Keystone in southern West VirginiaCommonsOld mining complex in the distressed Appalachian Mountains …2015Buildings along the railroad line through the distressed Appalachian Mountains town of Keystone in southern West Virgin…CommonsBuildings along the railroad line through the distressed Ap…2015WVMap-doton-KeystoneCommonsWVMap-doton-Keystone2004
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Keystone is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Keystone has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Algoma Coal and Coke Company Store in Northfork, 1.1 miles away.

Keystone and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Keystone. Tap a dot.
Algoma Coal and Coke Company StoreEmpire Coal Company StorePeerless Coal Company StoreJohn J. Lincoln HouseWorld War MemorialHenrietta Dismukes Hospital Nurses Home

Closest to Keystone

Algoma Coal and Coke Company StoreNorthfork · Building1.1miEmpire Coal Company StoreVivian · Building1.6miPeerless Coal Company StoreVivian · Building2.4miJohn J. Lincoln HouseNorthfork · Building2.8miWorld War MemorialKimball · Site3.4mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Algoma Coal and Coke Company Store’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Keystone?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Keystone’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Northfork📜 Kimball📜 Anawalt📜 Gary

From Wikimedia Commons (4) and the Library of Congress (2). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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