The former Houston Coal Company Store building in Kimball will become a coal heritage museum and a tourist stop along the Coal Heritage Trail, thanks to a $729,604 grant from the Federal Highway Administration.

"This funding will help the Coal Heritage Trail, an initiative that I proudly helped establish more than 10 years ago, continue to build upon our mission of preserving and promoting our rich coal heritage for future generations," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., in announcing the grant.

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The building, nearly 100 years old, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

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From 1910 to 1925, it served as the headquarters and company store for Houston Coal and Coke Collieries, which operated mines at nearby Carswell. By 1930, the store building was sold to Koppers Coal Co., and was later used by Leatherwood Milk Co. and Court Construction Co., before it was donated to the town of Kimball, which in turn donated it to the McArts Fine Arts Organization.

Company owner David Houston and his wife, Miriam, were the main benefactors of Houston Methodist Church in Kimball, and built a summer camp with 26 cabins and two natural swimming pools, where county schoolchildren spent one week a year free of charge. Miriam Houston founded McDowell County's first Girl Scout troop.

"For as old as the building is, it's in remarkably good shape," said Christy Bailey, director of the Coal Heritage Highway Authority. "It will need a lot of cosmetic work on the inside, along with a heating and cooling system. McArts will be setting up the museum space and programming. By fall, we should be in the design phase, with construction to follow next spring."

McArts officials last year toured the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh to get ideas for the museum in Kimball, and have met with a museum consultant and with personnel from the state Division of Culture and History. In addition to interpreting the region's coal industry and McDowell County's history, the museum would also feature a railroad component under current plans.

Jean Battlo, the founder and artistic director of McArts, said the idea of housing a museum in the old Houston Company Store has been in the planning stages since the 1990s. The store building is currently the home of Coal Country Creations, a small business that makes coal statuettes.

According to Bailey, development of the Houston Company Store Museum will make Kimball a key stop on the 97-mile Coal Heritage Trail, part of the National Scenic Byways system. The Coal Heritage Trail stretches from Bluefield to Beckley, mostly following U.S. 52 and W.Va. 16.

Rahall said preservation of the Houston Coal Company Store and other coal heritage sites not only has educational value, but can be "an incredible economic engine for the tourism industry in Southern West Virginia."

To contact staff writer Rick Steelhammer, use e-mail or call 348-5169.

The former Houston Coal Company Store building in Kimball will become a coal heritage museum and a tourist stop along the Coal Heritage Trail, thanks to a $729,604 grant from the Federal Highway Administration.

"This funding will help the Coal Heritage Trail, an initiative that I proudly helped establish more than 10 years ago, continue to build upon our mission of preserving and promoting our rich coal heritage for future generations," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., in announcing the grant.

Built nearly 100 years ago, the red brick building with its distinctive tiled roof and domed windows is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

From 1910 to 1925, it served as the headquarters and company store for Houston Coal and Coke Collieries, which operated mines at nearby Carswell. By 1930, the store building was sold to Koppers Coal Co., and was later used by Leatherwood Milk Co. and Court Construction Co., before it was donated to the town of Kimball, which in turn donated it to the McArts Fine Arts Organization.

Company owner David Houston and his wife, Miriam, were the main benefactors of Houston Methodist Church in Kimball, and built a summer camp with 26 cabins and two natural swimming pools, where county schoolchildren spent one week a year free of charge. Miriam Houston founded McDowell County's first Girl Scout troop.

"For as old as the building is, it's in remarkably good shape," said Christy Bailey, director of the Coal Heritage Highway Authority. "It will need a lot of cosmetic work on the inside, along with a heating and cooling system. McArts will be setting up the museum space and programming. By fall, we should be in the design phase, with construction to follow next spring."

McArts officials last year toured the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh to get ideas for the museum in Kimball, and have met with a museum consultant and with personnel from the state Division of Culture and History. In addition to interpreting the region's coal industry and McDowell County's history, the museum would also feature a railroad component under current plans.

Jean Battlo, the founder and artistic director of McArts, said the idea of housing a museum in the old Houston Company Store has been in the planning stages since the 1990s. The store building is currently the home of Coal Country Creations, a small business that makes coal statuettes.

According to Bailey, development of the Houston Company Store Museum will make Kimball a key stop on the 97-mile Coal Heritage Trail, part of the National Scenic Byways system. The Coal Heritage Trail stretches from Bluefield to Beckley, mostly following U.S. 52 and W.Va. 16.

Rahall said preservation of the Houston Coal Company Store and other coal heritage sites not only has educational value, but can be "an incredible economic engine for the tourism industry in Southern West Virginia."

To contact staff writer Rick Steelhammer, use e-mail or call 348-5169.