My grandfather had a 700 acre cattle farm where he raised black angus in West Virginia in the 70's. I haven't visited it yet but I plan on it. I have found out that a man by the name of Quilly Ward owns it now. This property was sold to Quilly and my grandfather decided to hang on to the mineral rights for the kittaining coal far under the surface. I occasionally get mail from the city clerk from Harrison County telling me to pay up my share for the taxes on the mineral rights. It seems that there is one gentleman by the name of Mike so and so who goes around buying up the mineral rights from those who have not paid their taxes. The legislation and regulations make it somewhat difficult to snap these up (sometimes requiring two years of non-payment)... however, my sisters and I have already lost 16% of our share to this fella. Its an interesting lesson though and I have taken note of it.
http://www.house.gov/mollohan/harrisonhistory.htm source for quote below
The rich coal, gas and petroleum reserves of the county began to be exploited after 1900. The boom that this economic activity created caused the population to more than double from 1900 to 1920 -- rising from 27,690 in 1900, to 48,381 in 1910, and 74,793 in 1920. Glass factories also sprang up in the 1890s and early 1900s, utilizing the abundant natural gas of the county. Coal production was 126,594 tons in 1888, rose to 5,710,982 tons by 1920, and hit an all-time high of 12,744,276 tons in 1945. The population of the county peaked in 1950 at 85,296.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/06/voting_for_coal_1.php
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