A Commercial Center

As the community of Mount Hope developed with the coal interests during the early 20th century, it emerged as one of the premier commercial and industrial centers of the New River coalfields, serving a steady customer base of both workers and executives. Located west of Dunloup Creek and running generally parallel to its alignment, Main Street evolved as the primary commercial thoroughfare. Stores, restaurants, hotels, movie theatres, and banks opened along its length, with many of the buildings rebuilt in masonry after the 1910 fire that erased the first generation of Main Street buildings. Complementing the commerce found along Main Street, Mill and Center Streets served as secondary arteries running southeast to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway and the bank of Dunloup Creek. Both Mill and Center Streets were anchored by community institutions, the former occupied by the Mount Hope Bakery and the latter leading to the operations of the successful Mount Hope Lumber Company.

Mount Hope, West Virginia · United States