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All results (35)Timeline (7)Communities (1)People (0)Post Offices (22)Postmasters (0)Visual History (2)Sources (3)

35 results for “Bretz”

  1. Communities

    Bretz

    Bretz developed along Deckers Creek through railroad, coal, and coke history. Its timeline includes the Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad’s arrival, the Elkins Coal & Coke Company’s beehive ovens, Oak Park, and the later end of rail service along the corridor. Ni…

  2. Post Offices

    Bretz

    Bretz 1904 Post office establishment application Certified January 19, 1904 by proposed postmaster Burton Benjamin Miller. Proposed extension of route 16054, Morgantown-Masontown; lists Masontown, Reedsville, Herring, Cheat River, Deckers Creek and Morgantown…

  3. Post Offices

    Bretz — Change of site continuation (1929)

    Bretz Signed December 11, 1929 by Lloyd M. Stemple. Move requested January 15, 1930 because present building condemned; new building being erected. About 360 patrons within one mile. B&O agent certifies proposed site 3,000 feet from station; quarterly cancell…

  4. Post Offices

    Bretz — Map / diagram (1904)

    Bretz Associated with page 367 (date from application). Shows Bretz and Masontown, Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad, road toward Reedsville post office and Cheat River. NARA page 368

  5. Post Offices

    Bretz — Map / diagram (1928)

    Bretz Associated with page 369 (date from questionnaire). Shows Masontown, Reedsville, Morgantown, Kingwood, Deckers Creek, B&O Railroad and Morgantown-Kingwood hard road. NARA page 370

  6. Post Offices

    Bretz — Map / diagram (1929)

    Bretz Associated with page 373 (date from form). Shows present and proposed Bretz office sites, Masontown, Reedsville, Gladesville, Cheat River, Deckers Creek, B&O Railroad and roads toward Morgantown and Kingwood. NARA page 374

  7. Post Offices

    Bretz — Map / diagram (1942)

    Bretz Associated with page 371 (date from location form). Circular sketch shows Bretz, Masontown, Reedsville, Morgantown, Kingwood, West Virginia Route 7 and railroad. Square diagram unused. NARA page 372

  8. Post Offices

    Bretz — Post office establishment application (1904)

    Bretz Certified January 19, 1904 by proposed postmaster Burton Benjamin Miller. Proposed extension of route 16054, Morgantown-Masontown; lists Masontown, Reedsville, Herring, Cheat River, Deckers Creek and Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad. Estimated population …

  9. Post Offices

    Bretz — Post office location form (1942)

    Bretz Dated May 8, 1942; signed L. M. Stemple; received May 9. Lists Masontown station on M&K Branch of B&O, Deckers Creek, Masontown and Reedsville offices. Mail supplied by star route from Morgantown and Terra Alta. NARA page 371

  10. Post Offices

    Bretz — Proposed change of site form (1929)

    Bretz Issued November 19; signed December 11, 1929 by Lloyd M. Stemple. Proposed move 1,800 feet east. Lists Cheat River, Deckers Creek, Masontown, Reedsville, Gladesville and B&O Railroad at Bretz. NARA page 373

  11. Post Offices

    Bretz — Topographer's questionnaire (1928)

    Bretz Issued May 29; signed June 6, 1928 by L. M. Stemple; received June 8. Valley District; mail received from train. Lists Masontown, Reedsville, Cheat River and Deckers Creek. Office 50 feet from B&O Railroad, M&K Branch; station Bretz. NARA page 369

  12. Timeline

    Bretz coke ovens enter full production

    1907 The Elkins Coal & Coke Company's Bretz plant entered full production in 1907. The Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad connected the operation with its principal customer, the Maryland Steel Company plant and shipyard at Sparrows Point near Baltimore. Bretz Bre…

  13. Timeline

    Construction begins on the Bretz beehive coke ovens

    1906 After acquiring the town of Bretz and its adjacent coal mine from the West Virginia Coal Company in 1906, the Elkins Coal & Coke Company began constructing a bank of 400 beehive coke ovens. Bretz Bretz Coal, Coke & Mining National Register of Historic Pla…

  14. Timeline

    Last beehive coke ovens at Bretz cease operation

    …verify The end of production marked the close of a long industrial era at Bretz, where coal mining and beehive coke production had shaped the community for generations. Bretz Bretz Coal, Coke & Mining Kin & Coal fieldwork and article notes

  15. Timeline

    The Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad reaches Bretz

    …1903 Brown dates the arrival of the Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad at Bretz to September 1903, carrying the line farther along the Deckers Creek Valley. Bretz Bretz Railroads James J. Brown, “The Morgantown & Kingwood Railroad,” Proceedings and Papers of the M…

  16. Visual History

    The station, company store, and railroad at Bretz

    …September 1903 arrival. Undated photographs James Brown collection Bretz Bretz company store and railroad, date unknown. Photo courtesy of the James Brown collection. Steam locomotive on tracks beside the Bretz company store, with people gathered by the tracks…

  17. Post Offices

    Arthurdale

    …railroads, Cheat River and Deckers Creek, with Reedsville, Masontown, Bretz, Cascade, Browns Mills, Bethlehem, Gladesville, Manown, Kingwood, Albright, Howesville, Newburg, Independence and Tunnelton. Arthurdale 1934 Application continuation / mail supply Ass…

  18. Post Offices

    Arthurdale — Map / diagram (1934)

    …railroads, Cheat River and Deckers Creek, with Reedsville, Masontown, Bretz, Cascade, Browns Mills, Bethlehem, Gladesville, Manown, Kingwood, Albright, Howesville, Newburg, Independence and Tunnelton. NARA page 342

  19. Sources

    e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia

    …The West Virginia Encyclopedia, last revised February 8, 2024 e-WV, “Bretz Coke Ovens” e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, “Prohibition” e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedia, “The Weather” e-WV, “Cranesville Swamp” e-WV, “National Natural Landmarks” Michele …

  20. Sources

    Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)

    …Historic American Engineering Record — Elkins Coal & Coke Company, Bretz Ovens (HAER WV-7), photograph 3, “Watering the ovens” Historic American Engineering Record, WV-30 HAER WV-30 — federal engineering history of the dam and power system Library of Congress …

  21. Sources

    Library of Congress

    …Historic American Engineering Record — Elkins Coal & Coke Company, Bretz Ovens (HAER WV-7), photograph 3, “Watering the ovens” The Republican (Oakland, Maryland), November 22, 1951, p. 1, “Crash of B-26 Bomber Near Eglon Takes Two Lives, Possibly Three” The Re…

  22. Post Offices

    Masontown

    …Creek ⅜ mile west. Monongalia County 2 miles away. Cascade 1 mile NW, Bretz 1 mile south, Reedsville 3 miles south. Star-route mail from Terra Alta and Morgantown. Masontown Mason Town 1935 Post office location questionnaire / name notation Second request date…

  23. Post Offices

    Masontown — Map / diagram (1935)

    …583; date from questionnaire. Circular sketch shows Masontown, Cascade, Bretz, Greer, Reedsville, Kingwood, Bruceton Mills, Dellslow and direction to Morgantown, with railroad, roads and Monongalia–Preston county line. Square grid crossed out. No separate date…

  24. Post Offices

    Masontown — Post office location questionnaire (1942)

    …Creek ⅜ mile west. Monongalia County 2 miles away. Cascade 1 mile NW, Bretz 1 mile south, Reedsville 3 miles south. Star-route mail from Terra Alta and Morgantown. NARA page 582

  25. Post Offices

    Masontown — Post office location questionnaire / name notation (1935)

    …Western Valley District; Monongalia line 2 miles. Cascade 1 mile NW, Bretz 1 mile SW, Reedsville 3 miles south, Bruceton Mills 12 miles NE. B. & O. station and Deckers Creek ½ mile west; Cheat River 4½ miles NE. Star-route service. Map on page 584. NARA page 5…

  26. Timeline

    Oak Park closes

    …eyewitness recollection that the park likely closed around 1929, when the Bretz mine and the powerhouse supplying Oak Park shut down. Bretz / Masontown Bretz Masontown Culture, Media & Communications Brad Martin, “Oak Park,” e-WV: The West Virginia Encyclopedi…

  27. Timeline

    Rail service ends along the future Deckers Creek Trail

    …that would become the Deckers Creek Rail-Trail. Morgantown / Reedsville Bretz Deckers Creek Masontown Morgantown Preston County Reedsville Railroads Mon River Trails Conservancy, local history account; TrailLink, “Deckers Creek Rail-Trail History”; Morgantown …

  28. Post Offices

    Reedsville

    …0.10 mile west. Deckers Creek 0.2 mile west. Arthurdale 1.4 miles west, Bretz 2.5 miles north. Star-route mail from Morgantown and Terra Alta. Map on page 633. Reedsville 1942 Map / diagram Reverse of page 632; year from questionnaire. Printed regional highwa…

  29. Post Offices

    Reedsville — Post office location questionnaire (1905)

    …River and ¾ mile NE of Deckers Creek. Route 16666; Manown 4 miles SE, Bretz 2¼ miles NW, Reesing to NE (distance unclear). Office ½ mile NE of Morgantown & Kingwood railroad track. County boundary 3 air miles away. Map on page 635. NARA page 634

  30. Post Offices

    Reedsville — Post office location questionnaire (1942)

    …0.10 mile west. Deckers Creek 0.2 mile west. Arthurdale 1.4 miles west, Bretz 2.5 miles north. Star-route mail from Morgantown and Terra Alta. Map on page 633. NARA page 632

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