Quinnimont emerged as the first mining town of New River Gorge after the Quinnimont Charter Oak and Iron Company built an iron furnace on Laurel Creek in 1870, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was completed through the gorge in the spring of 1873, and the first shipment of coal was transported out of Quinnimont that fall. The town included a general store, post office, baseball field, hotel, jail, and railroad boarding houses, with separate churches and schools serving black and white communities and housing strategically segregated among racial and ethnic groups. As the number of African Americans in the New River Gorge increased, the New River Baptist Association formed in 1884, and black churches became a major part of community organization. Established in 1880, Quinnimont Missionary Baptist Church was one of the first African American churches in the New River Gorge, serving spiritual needs through regular Sunday meetings, care and comfort for those in need, and support for important life events including births, baptisms, marriages, and funerals.