Henlawson, WV

Henlawson, Logan County, WV

Henlawson is rumored to have been named for Henry Lawson (see comment) who owned lots of land in the area. The Henlawson post office was established May 24, 1910. Merrill Coal Mines opened its Merrill Mine here in 1921 and built approximately 84 homes to house its miners. Its company store was also located here.

Photo of Henlawson, WV Dec. 1984
Henlawson – Dec. 1984 courtesy of Susan Muncey.

Henlawson Photo Gallery


Brochure – 1962 Logan County Fair at Henlawson courtesy of Ralph Mcneely

You can help preserve a bit of Logan County history by sharing your vintage photos with us. To share a photo, please email it to loganwv.us@gmail.com. Please note that you must own the photo you are submitting or ensure that no one has a copyright claim on it.

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65 thoughts on “Henlawson, WV”

  1. That “not Henlawson” picture is typical Rte. 10 between Rum Jct. and Man, and my guess is that it’s a point about a quarter of the way from the railroad crossing near Rum Jct. to Lyburn. The old Lyburn tipple used to be just past the hollow on the left in the distance. My father’s friend Pat Wright ran a little grocery store on the left at the mouth of the hollow, and Dad himself, helped by Ed Young, operated the beer joint and filling station at Rum Jct. for several years.

    1. Thanks. A new version of the photo you are referring to was added to the Man Gallery a few years ago. Apparently, you found the original version before the caption was corrected. I neglected to delete the old version but it’s gone now.

  2. By Chance does anyone have any photo’s of the ” Gore ” Family from Henlawson? My mother was raised there and her father was a preacher at one of the churches back in the day.

    1. Which Gore family. my maiden nr is Gore and I loved at Henlawson. There was another Gore family also according toy mother.

  3. I added the map to the Henlawson Cemetery on find a grave. Also the Crooked Creek, Hainor, McDonald Family and Peach Creek cemetery’s. We located the other’s while trying to find the Peach Creek cemetery. There is suppose to be one up the hill on Peach Creek near the old mine office. We drove up there and turned around at the first gas well. (dirt road). I have tried looking on satellite photo’s to no avail. It might be under the trees. Usually you can see the headstones. I also put the Justice Cemetery on find a grave. The GPS was not up the hill far enough. You can see the headstones. I also located the Crooked Creek Cemetery from Topo maps. The others were not on there. You don’t turn out Crooked Creek, go straight and it is on the right. We had to turn around there. It is in the woods across from the RR tracks. You wouldn’t know it was there except for the topo map.

    1. Diane, thanks for all of your hard work.
      I live in California & use the Find A Grave
      site a lot to do my research.
      Do you know the location of Cora &
      Shamrock Cemeteries?

      1. Hi Bob, I see that you try to assist a lot of people. No, I don’t know the locations of the Cora and Shamrock cemeteries. I have never seen them on the d c’s that I have seen on wvculture. Are they on find a grave? I will have to check. Maybe is someone reads this they will know, and thank you for all of the advice you give. I use family search also.

        Diane

        1. Hi Diane,thanks for your nice comments.
          The D.C. says burial in Cora,WV.
          Not Cora Cemetery. I found them on
          the family search site.
          Hoping that someone will find the
          cemetery & take photos of the gravestones.

      2. Hi Folks, By Chance is this the grave yard behind the church up on the hill? If so I have a few pictures of it even though it was overgrown.

      3. Delilah Riffe Frye

        Shamrock Cemetery may possibly be the Mounts Cemetery at Dempsey Branch, located nearby. Some Graves were moved for the new road, but many Graves remain there at Mounts Cemetery.

    2. Hi, I could never find the Henlawson cemetery on find a grave so I created one in 2021 with pictures, headstone information and map. There is some confusing information on what the cemetery is called. Some call it the “Henlawson Cemetery” others call it the “Henderson Cemetery” both are wrong. I did some research and the official name is actually the “McDonald Memorial Park”

  4. Loved looking at these old pictures. I was hoping to find some of my family on there but there wasn’t. Does anyone remember Cleve Adkins? He was my great grandpa. Some of my best childhood memories come from Henlawson back in the 60’s. I still consider it “my home”.

  5. Bryon Moore(Curtis)

    picture my old house in row 2 pic 4 that’s old henlawson aka Merrill park..4th row 3rd pic is same house just remodeled

    1. glad that i put of the photos.. that is of family,, that is my 2 uncles… so the picture across the bridge is the same place??? .. the one on the left or right..??? that is good information.. thank you..

  6. In Image 6 of the Henlawson students, my mom, Roberta (Bobbie Ann) Bell Mann was the teacher.


    Thank you! I will add her name to the photo description. — Admin

        1. I’M, in the third row down and the FIFTH student over. I’M, in the NAVY picture. I, remember the store next to the elementry school in henlawson. DO, AYOU KNOW THE NAME OF THE SCHOOL? MY,aunt was a nurse. HER, name was IVA ACCORD. I, had a lot of relatives in henlawson. DID, you know LEW ELLIS? PERHAP’S, you can tell ROBERTA you found one of her FIRST grade student’s and show her some picture’s. I, remain.

          1. I knew your aunt, Iva Accord. Her and Fred lived beside of my family, the Mack Wimmer family. Iva being a nurse stuck many a needle in my butt when I was a little one. Fred used to throw candy bars over onto our porch for me when I was little and it is one of my fondest childhood memories. I live in Ohio now and I went back for a visit many years ago and just had to stop and visit a minute with him. I never knew what became of Iva and I heard that Fred passed away down in Florida. I loved them both dearly. I still have a photo of them standing on their front steps, Maybe I’ll post it on this site.

      1. I’.m, in the THIRD row down and FIFTH student over. I’M, in the NAVYpicture. I, remember the store next to the SCHOOL. WHAT, was the name of the school? MY, aunt was a nurse. HER, name was IVA ACORD. I, hada lot of relatives in HENLAWSON. PERHAPS, you can tell ROBERTA you found one of her 1st grade student’s and show her the picture. THANK YOU, for your follow-up. I, remain.

  7. Enjoy seeing the old pictures – was searching for “Red Top Inn’ next to the tracks, my grandfather, Kelly Cox owned/operated.

  8. LaRue Brewster Carnes

    I was born in Holden Hospital in 1952. I grew up in Henlawson and I believe Henry Lawson was a very old man when I was very little. His house was down over the hill near the railroad bridge, very steep stone steps. There was a daughter, somebody who took care of him and I think Station Hollow was up from his house.
    My grandfather and his brothers built the houses at Merrill Coal Camp. They came from Kentucky. Does anyone have info on the Farris family that lived in Henlawson. I’d love to find Jewetta Farris my childhood friend. Charlie was her dad and Regina was her mother. Thanks.

    1. Wanda Adkins Conley

      I grew up in Station Hollow. Darwin Adkins was my dad. I remember Jimmy Lawson lived in the house you mentioned but dad always told me about Henry Lawson.

        1. Eloise Messer , recently passed away July 4, she was my Aunt, does anyone remember Kim Lawson, Terri, Natalie and Jamie?

          1. Linda Browning Hoffman

            I amfriends on Facebook with Natalie only know her thru Jim as we were together from 1909 thru 1914 we were in 9th grade in Logan together He passed away I think about 2 years ago

  9. Ransom (randy) Maynard

    During 1950 I ran a beer joint called The Red Top Inn next to the old swinging bridge there. Locals called it The bloody Bucket. I also ran a poker game in the house that set between the inn and the end of the bridge. My biggest days were whenever there was a strike or layoff. I just could not understand why they always came there and spend their last income for beer. Many time their wives would send a small child in to try and talk their dad into coming home. As I recall it never worked, the kid left alone.

    1. I just read your comment on “Red Top Inn” – is the same bar owned/operated by my grandfather Kelly Cox and my step-grandmother Gladys Kelly Cox?

      Is there any pics of this business/building? I would love to see some pics of surrounding buildings.

      Thanks you
      Faye Francis
      fayef@frontier.com

  10. This looks like the road above the old airport going to Man. Looks liked the landing strip and hangars across the river middle right of picture the way it looked back in the 60’s.

  11. Diana Vinson-Childers

    I just love the stories and the people who have written them. Is any one aware of the cemetery at Henlawsen. We found it by mistake on a trip to find my dad’s ggf J. B. Vinson and Resa Dempsey Vinson. My dad is 80 and he visited family as a tot. He was in the Navy at the time of his death and was not sure where he was buried(Forest Lawn) we lucked onto. We pulled into Peach Creek not knowing then that his mother J. B.’s ,Saraham Blair and his father Ale Vinson is buried there. We turned around at the RR yard and crossed the river at Henlawsen. We asked some people if they knew about a cemetery and they said there was an old cemetery at the top of the hill. We turned right across the RR tracks, first road on the left. When you get to the top of the hill the cemetery is straight on and a house left at the top. I googled it and you can see it. It was very old and you could not read anything on the markers. I have read the stories about the Peach Creek and Crooked Creek, MCDonald, Hainor, Whitten Cemetaries and am still needing to figure things out for when we can make the trip back. I’ll be interested in any information coming forward. The Henlawson Cemetery is in very bad shape also. I wonder if Melvin Lawson from Logan CSA Civil War Lawson’s Company which Ale (Aly) Vinson was a member of may have been a Lawson which Henlawson was named after. Virginia State Line, Swann’s Battalion, Vincent A. Witchers 34th Calvary Battalion is where I can trace Ale to.

  12. I grew up in Henlawson and My Father and Grandfather always talked about Henlawson being named after a man named Henry Lawson who lived there. I remember him, but not sure when he died. I have read comments from other people on some of the sites from Logan County and others that say this also. Mr. Lawson was a very dignified looking man and very friendly. I also knew other members of his family.

  13. ralph h. mcneely

    does anybody remember the old man that used to stand outside the henlawson post office in the 50s, he wore a white suit and had a cane.. i remember riding to logan and seeing him standing outside there, he would always wave at you when you went by. the post office was at the railroad tracks going into what is now the park.

    1. His name was Corb Jeffrey. Nicest man you would ever meet. He went to my grandfather Rev. Wayne Damron’s Church at Henlawson.

      1. thank you so much.. i think i remember rev. damron… my grand father and mother lived in henlawson in the 30s , i think, mom was born where the park is now.. grand parents was emery and manerva killen.. thanks again for the info… i remember mr. jeffrey standing by the road and he would always wave at everybody… i have tried to do that myself…

        1. Virgil Hayes Woody

          Do you remember me, Hayes Woody? I lived in Henlawson for a while. My grandparents on my mother’s side were Jack and Julie Killen.

          1. lord yes i remember you… how are you sir… it has been a long time… i live on crooked creek now. have lived here for 30 years or more… came back here from the navy in the 60s.. i go to the park once a week and take photos of flowers and stuff.. i remember coming to you house when i was young.. how are you sir… my email address is rhmcneely47@yahoo if you want to email me.. we are getting old sir…

          2. ralph h. mcneely

            virgil if you look on here in family and friends there are photos of the family… i figure you have already done that but in case… i think you and i watched the 54 world series on your tv in the frount of the house… i dont remember much.. that was a long time ago.. most of the family is gone now.. nellie richards is still with us and joyce is to… janie kaye lives in justice addition…. i dont hear much from them, but i try to keep in touch.. if you have any questions just ask and i will try to answer them… it is good to hear from you..

  14. The old black and white photo of the railroad bridge is absolutely correct. My dad has lived across the tracks from the bridge since the late 40’s or early 50’s. The building that is seen there is the old section house.

  15. Dorothy Spiech-Baisden

    The name of the bridge is Carper, not Carter. It was named in honor of Bobby Carper, a Vietnam vet. I grew up right across the bridge, second house on the left after a right turn. My family lived in the house for 60 years. Henlawson residents always said the name was from a man named Henry Lawson, who owned a majority of the land and who had descendants in the community.

    1. Thank you. In a recent phone conversation with my aunt (she is a lifelong resident of Henlawson), I learned that she also believes that Henlawson was named for Henry Lawson. The post has been corrected.

    2. Lori Vaughan Howard

      Dorothy Ann – Yes, Henry Lawson was my Uncle Jim’s grandfather – .. so yes, that is who Henlawson was named after .

  16. Dorothy Spiech-Baisden

    I don’t think picture #9 is of Henlawson. The terrain is not at all like that. It looks more like 3 mile curve area. Also, some of the above bridge info seems to be incorrect. That bridge was not there in 1953. There was a swinging bridge at the lower end of Henlawson.

    1. Not Henlawson, maybe Logan County Thanks. I agree, it’s not Henlawson. I have removed this photo from the gallery. I don’t think it’s the Three Mile Curve area because the photo shows the road above the train tracks not vise versa. Maybe Rt. 10 heading toward Man?

      I also have doubts about the Henlawson Train Trestle photo. They are now tearing that RR bridge down also.

      The Henlawson Bridge in the photo replaced the old bridge in 1985 using the trusses moved to Henlawson in 1953. They are now planning to replace the 1985 bridge – the one in the photo.

      1. Yes this is the road to Man! Some places were even more of a drop. I’d think the rock chain holders would be replaced by now, if not the road.

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