Glen Jean

Glen Jean began in 1870 as the center of Thomas McKell’s West Virginia holdings after he received about 12,500 acres from his father-in-law as a wedding gift and, once geologists confirmed coal, bought another 12,500 acres, creating a 25,000-acre empire. He named the town for his wife, Jean Dunn McKell, opened a mine, leased property to others, and rented homes to workers. By 1904, at least ten mines were paying royalties to McKell, and both he and the town prospered. After Thomas McKell died in 1904, his son William continued the enterprise and eventually was reputed to be West Virginia’s richest man. With no heirs, William’s death in 1939 marked the beginning of Glen Jean’s decline. In the local coal economy, companies used their own currency, called scrip, to pay wages for use only at company stores, while miners could take cash at a lower rate.

Glen Jean, West Virginia · United States