Part 565: 1907 Sketching Trip to Kitzmiller
After visiting the Jamestown Exposition in 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We finished the trip by going to West Virginia on a sketching trip.” His first sketching trip to West Virginia was in 1885 with fellow scenic artists Henry C. Tryon and John H. Young. The three men had drifted from place to place, capturing picturesque scenes of the region. Finding lodging for three itinerant artists was far easier than a middle-aged married couple.
In 1907, Tom and Ella encountered a problem securing lodging in the area. Moses wrote that they visited “first Schell, no hotel, then to Blaire, W. Virginia, no hotel, then Kitzmillerville, Md. Across the river from Blaine, no hotel. Only a coal miner’s boarding house. Finally got the landlady to keep us overnight. Some come-down after our fine hotel at Norfolk.”
The river that Moses referred to is the North Branch of the Potomac River. Located on the wide and winding river was the Kitzmillerville. In 1907, the town derived its economic livelihood from the mining and transport of coal; it was the single most important industry in the town for 75 years. The town now has a Coal Mining Museum, celebrating its heritage and a designated historic district. The historic district is composed of approximately 175 buildings within the town of Kitzmillerville, a coal and lumber town. The town is now known as Kitzmiller.
The area supported a variety of industries. In 1853 Ebeneezer Kitzmiller established a woolen mill and shirt factory. The first trains of the West Virginia Central and Pittsburg Railroad arrived in the early 1880s, ushering in a new era of cutting and shipping lumber. By the late 1890s, coal companies made an appearance in the area. Among these were the Blaine Coal Co., the Garrett County Coal Co., the Potomac Valley Coal Co. and the Hamill Coal and Coke Company. Unlike may mining towns, Kitzmillerville was not a company town, the majority of houses owned by residents instead of coal or railway companies. The town prospered during the early twentieth century, reaching a peak population of 1500 during the late 1920s and supporting a range of business and entertainment, including an opera house. A series of unfortunate events contributed to Kitzmillerville’s decline, including repeated floods, the first significant one in 1924. In terms of economic devastation, strikes, the Depression, and a decrease in coal demand added to the shrinking of the town. Today, many of Kitzmillerville’s homes stand empty. The bustling town once visited by Tom and Ella Moses has been reduced to a population of 321. There are now only 126 households at the time.
Across the river form Kitzmillerville is the small settlement of Blaine. Blaine remains a small unincorporated community in Mineral County, West Virginia. It is located near the intersection of West Virginia Route 42 and the North Branch of the Potomac River. Like Kitzmillerville, the community was named after businessman, James G. Blaine. Kitzmillerville.
Of their stay in the area during 1907, Moses wrote, “Got some good sketches and had a fine time. We remained at the boarding house. I have written this trip in detail.” Unfortunately, I have not located Moses’ travelogues about any of his sketching trips beyond what was published in the Palette & Chisel Club newsletter.
To be continued…
