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May 1939. The coal company town of Kempton, West Virginia. View full size. 35mm nitrate negative by John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration.
This photo prompted me do to some further searching and I found this site with more photos and description of reclamation efforts: http://www.osmre.gov/awardsaml/md02.pdf
I own the third home from the right and several acres of land in Kempton. I live in D.C. and use the place as a vacation house. It's a little over a hundred years old and has been totally restored. Both my parents and grandparents lived there. The land was reclaimed and restored by the state of Maryland. Incidentally, Kempton is located in Maryland. The state of Maryland didn't allow mining company stores so therefore the store and the post office were located just across the line in West Virginia. Hence the name, Kempton, W.Va.
[All very fascinating. Thanks for writing. - Dave]
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