Bartley is an unincorporated census-designated place

Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...

 located in McDowell County

McDowell County, West Virginia

McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The land that became McDowell was originally part of Tazewell County, Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,113. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell county is the southern-most county in the state, geographically...

, West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, USA. It lies along the Norfolk and Western Railroad on the Dry Fork

Dry Fork (Tug Fork)

The Dry Fork is a tributary of the Tug Fork, belonging to the Ohio River watershed. The river is located in McDowell County, West Virginia and Tazewell County, Virginia, in the United States...

. As of the 2010 census

United States Census, 2010

The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...

, its population was 224. According to the Geographic Names Information System

Geographic Names Information System

The Geographic Names Information System is a database that contains name and locative information about more than two million physical and cultural features located throughout the United States of America and its territories. It is a type of gazetteer...

, Bartley has also been known as Bartlett and Peeryville.

Mining disaster

Bartley was the site of one of the largest mine disasters in American history when the Pond Creek #1 mine, owned by the Pocahontas Coal Corporation, exploded on January 10, 1940 at 2:30 PM. 91 miners lost their lives that fateful day. The west side of the mine was not affected and 37 men escaped injury and another 10 men at the bottom of the shaft, used to drop the men into the mine, were also not affected. A rescue effort was mounted and seven hours after the first explosion, while men were working to save their fellow miners, a second explosion occurred thus sealing the fate and ending the rescue effort for the 91 lost men. Upon investigation the cause of the explosion was found to be a gas pocket that had built up during the shift that was touched off by a spark of unknown origin. The mine had had a continuous history or having dangerous gas conditions throughout its history. The memorial marker to the 91 men can be found at the local United Methodist Church located at Bartley. The explosion left 51 widowed women along with 169 orphaned children.