Blue Skies over Bluefield, West Virginia

Abstract

Blue Skies over Bluefield, West Virginia Korine Kolivras This issue’s cover photo is of Bluefield, West Virginia as viewed through the lens of 5-year-old Zakary Shannon, aspiring photographer and geographer (Full disclosure: Zakary also happens to be my son). When asked what he first noticed as we drove into Bluefield, Zakary responded, “Train cars full of coal.” And yes, that is what dominated the scene to both child and adult. The metal-on-metal squeaking of the wheels against rail filled the air, with train car after train car slowly grinding down the tracks. With a population that just barely exceeds 10,000 people, Bluefield is not a large urban center. Yet, this Appalachian town anchors the Bluefield Micropolitan Statistical area (comprised of Mercer County, West Virginia, and Tazewell County, Virginia) and services a regional population of approximately 100,000 (Figure 1). Without question, and as Zakary rightly identifies, Bluefield is a coal town. Known as a “gateway to the Pocahontas coal field” (Fain 2011, p 53), Bluefield’s urban boom occurred a century ago. The historic and regional presence of coal meant that Bluefield also has the benefit of being a railway town. Situated in a valley that dissects the Appalachian Plateau, Bluefield was historically served by the Virginian and the Norfolk and Western rail roads. The result is an obvious linear urban form as development has followed the train tracks and sought out pockets of level ground amidst the mountainous terrain. Several bridges link the communities on both sides of the rail yard, which is over 15 tracks wide in some spots, but each has a distinct feel. On the south side of the tracks, local businesses fill the downtown core and residences spill over the hill behind it. People sit outside, waving to cars and chatting with one another. Bluefield State College, a historically Black College and University (HBCU) that now hosts a predominantly white student population, is on the north side of the rail yard, along with residential neighborhoods. Faithful readers of the Southeastern Geographer might recall Tyrel Moore’s thoughtful description of the effects of deindustrialization in southern West Virginia in “A Southern West Virginia Mining Community Revisited.” In this work Moore (1998, p 15) highlights that Bluefield—like many other towns that cater to resource extraction—witnessed a population decline that exceeded 20 percent during the 1980s. The evidence of stagnation and disinvestment remains visible and there remains a gritty feel or spirit to the town. While demographic decline has lessened, Bluefield is still losing about 10 percent of its population per decade. [End Page 343] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. [End Page 344] While the town’s website proudly states that Bluefield “is the perfect marriage between the metro and small town” and that it is “a certified retirement community” it is a town that risks losing its micropolitan status by the next census (City of Bluefield 2014). Still, with the Jefferson National Forest in its backyard, and its convenient access to the Interstate Highway System, there is the potential for Bluefield to become a destination for those individuals seeking a place rich in natural amenities. How might Bluefield resurrect its image? Does it matter if Bluefield transitions into a rural area instead of being a place of micropolitan status? What new industries might ‘save’ the area? How can Bluefield better position itself to secure talented young workers and tourists? These are critical questions that countless micropolitan and other communities are grappling with in the Southeast. By asking what makes Bluefield, West Virginia, different from Blacksburg, Virginia, there is an opportunity for Zakary to learn the deeper geographies of place. Korine Kolivras Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University references City of Bluefield. 2014. “City of Bluefield West Virginia: Nature’s air-conditioned city.” Accessed 11 August 2014 at http://www.cityofbluefield.com/. Fain, C. 2011. Into the crucible: The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and the black industrial worker in southern West Virginia, 1870–1900. Journal of Appalachian Studies 17:42–65. Google Scholar Moore, T.G. 1998. A southern West Virginia mining community revisited. Southeastern Geographer 38(1):1–21. [End Page 345] Google Scholar Copyright...