Cultural Landscape Report: Chadwell Gap Coal Company, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Panamerican Consultants, Inc., Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., Liz Sargent HLA. 2023. Cultural Landscape Report: Chadwell Gap Coal Company, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. Cultural Landscape Report. National Park Service. Atlanta, Georgia
The Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) for the Chadwell Gap Coal Company provides park management with an assessment of the character-defining features of the cultural landscape and specific treatment recommendations designed to ensure the preservation of these significant resources. The CLR identifies and prioritizes the actions needed to ensure resource preservation while also addressing contemporary park management concerns. At the same time, the CLR guides appropriate development to accommodate the needs of visitors, following NPS guidance on what is allowable within the recommended wilderness. The Chadwell Gap Coal Company property is an extant and remarkably intact example of a small, family mining operation included within Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. The mine was established in 1920 and began operations in 1922 during a period of decline in the industry. As established in the early twentieth century, Chadwell Gap Coal Company was a small operation that relied on vernacular site engineering practices for coal extraction, processing, and delivery, and it primarily served local businesses and residents. Where coal mines within the region had traditionally relied on railroads to deliver their product to market, Chadwell Gap Coal Company relied on truck transportation. The closure of the mine generally coincided with the establishment of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park in 1940. The Commonwealth of Virginia acquired land associated with the mine for inclusion in the park and donated it to the federal government in 1955, and the park officially opened in 1959. The CLR includes primary documentary research, interviews, landscape description, identification of landscape features, evaluation of significance and integrity, treatment recommendations, and consideration of specific issues identified by the park.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Panamerican Consultants, Inc.; Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.; Liz Sargent HLA
- Date of Issue
- 2023-03
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- CUGA , SER
- Keywords
- aerial tram, Chadwell Gap Coal Company Historic District, Chadwell Gap Trail, coal mine, coke ovens, Commissary, engineering, extraction, geology, historical archeology, industry, Lower Tipple, mining, oral interview, wilderness
- Subjects
- CRIS-CL: 550023: Cumberland Gap Landscape , CRIS-CL: 550024: The Wilderness Road