Caretta, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Caretta is an unincorporated community located in McDowell County
, West Virginia
, USA. Caretta was named for the transposed syllables in the name of Mrs. Etta Carter, the wife of George Lafayette Carter
. It is the only place in the United States
with this name.
This company town
was originally owned first by The Virginia Pocahontas Coal Company, then by the Carter Coal Company, and the final operators in Caretta were the Consolidation Coal Company.
Caretta is home to the Big Creek People in Action, an organization founded in 1990 by citizens of McDowell County, West Virginia in order to improve the local quality of life. The organization also boasts partnerships with numerous colleges, churches, and other groups who volunteer in the area.
Caretta's coal mine was connected to the mine in nearby Coalwood, West Virginia
, made famous in the book Rocket Boys
.
The Carter Coal Company Store
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1992.
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. Caretta was named for the transposed syllables in the name of Mrs. Etta Carter, the wife of George Lafayette Carter
George Lafayette Carter
-Biography:George L. Carter was born near Hillsville, Virginia on January 10, 1857. He owned land in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. For instance, he owned the land on which East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee was later built, and land in Bristol, Tennessee....
. It is the only place in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with this name.
This company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
was originally owned first by The Virginia Pocahontas Coal Company, then by the Carter Coal Company, and the final operators in Caretta were the Consolidation Coal Company.
Caretta is home to the Big Creek People in Action, an organization founded in 1990 by citizens of McDowell County, West Virginia in order to improve the local quality of life. The organization also boasts partnerships with numerous colleges, churches, and other groups who volunteer in the area.
Caretta's coal mine was connected to the mine in nearby Coalwood, West Virginia
Coalwood, West Virginia
Coalwood is an unincorporated coal mining town in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA. As of the 1990 Census, the population was 900. The coal mine in Coalwood reached its peak in the 1960s and finally shut down production on October 1, 1982...
, made famous in the book Rocket Boys
Rocket Boys
Rocket Boys is the first memoir in a series of three, by Homer Hickam, Jr. It is a story of growing up in a mining town, and a boy's pursuit of amateur rocketry in a coal mining town. It won the in 1998, the year of its release. Today, it is one of the most often picked community/library reads in...
.
The Carter Coal Company Store
Carter Coal Company Store (Caretta, West Virginia)
Carter Coal Company Store, also known as Consolidation Coal Company Store, is a historic company store building located at Caretta, McDowell County, West Virginia. It was built about 1912, and is a one-story brick commercial building on a stone foundation. It has a gable roof...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1992.