Appalachia, VA

Appalachia had 1,432 residents in 2020 and takes its name from the mountains that surround Wise County. Its post office dates to 1898, but coal and railroads supplied the town’s real momentum. Southern, Louisville & Nashville, and Interstate rail lines served the area, and the Virginia & Southwestern moved its shops from Bristol to Appalachia in 1911. Coal camps such as Derby, Stonega, Andover, and Pardee grew around the mines, leaving a network of nearby communities with their own streets, churches, and company buildings.

That coal-and-rail heritage still shapes the town’s calendar and landmarks. Coal/Railroad Days fills the first week of August with a 5K, concerts at the amphitheater, rides, vendors, and a parade. Downtown buildings and the Derby, Kelly View School, Stonega, and Appalachia Commercial historic districts preserve pieces of the older town. The Powell River Trail offers a different way to see the valley, while the Veterans and Miners Memorial Wall gives the mining past a personal face. Appalachia students now attend Union High School in Big Stone Gap after the school merger, and Appalachia Elementary closed in 2017.