Kimball, WV

Kimball is a town in McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. The 2020 census counted 145 residents. Kimball was incorporated in 1911 and named for Frederick J. Kimball is the site of the first war memorial building erected in memory of the African-American veterans of World War I. The Houston Coal Company Store is a one-story building constructed with dark red brick and covered by a hipped green tile roof, surrounded by a shaded yard. Arched windows and projecting wings along the facade introduce stylistic variation to the structure. From October 2005 when it opened until its closure in January 28, 2016, a Walmart superstore was the largest employer in the town.

Before a Walmart opened on the site, the building was home to a Kmart on the property. Kimball Negro High School served African American students until it was converted to a junior high school in the wake of integration. Kimball makes sense once you see how its past, landscape, and current gathering spots overlap. The useful thing to know about Kimball is that its older landmarks and current settings belong to one connected place. The Kimball mining disaster took place on July 18, 1919, at the Carswell coal mine in Kimball, killing six miners.