Echoes from the Gorge

The New River Gorge is more than a scenic landmark; it is a monument to a way of life that was violently transformed. In the late 1800s, the independent mountain dreams of local families were replaced by the rigid logic of the coal seam.

Through the hollows of Fayette and Raleigh, we trace the transition from the “soil”—the self-sufficient farm—to the “scrip”—the company currency that bound men to the mines.