Sewell

West Virginia's ghost towns are coal company towns, owned outright by the mine and abandoned the same way.

Sewell is an unincorporated community in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. Sewell is located on the New River, 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Fayetteville. Sewell was the sight of a major coking operation with 193 beehive coke ovens operating in the late nineteenth century and early to mid twentieth century. The operation was serviced by the Mann's Creek Railroad between 1886 and 1955. The community was named after Stephen Sewell, a pioneer settler.

Sewell sold the one thing the country around it didn't have: water.

Little stands at Sewell today beyond foundations and scattered traces. Foundation-only sites reward visitors who enjoy reading a landscape — bring an old plat map or historic photo if you can find one, and the vanished streets start to reappear.

Public access makes Sewell one of the easier ghost towns to actually stand in — though "public" in ghost-town country can still mean miles of dirt road, so check recent trip reports first.

Sewell is publicly accessible — but give the word "accessible" some respect. Out here it can still mean miles of unmaintained dirt road. Check recent trip reports, carry extra water and a spare tire, download offline maps, and let someone know your route.

Ghost-town etiquette is simple: take only photographs. Removing artifacts is illegal on public lands and disrespectful everywhere else — and on federal land it can be a serious offense.

The ground itself demands respect: open mine shafts, collapsing floors, and old wells hide in tall grass, cell service is often nonexistent, and help can be hours away. Tell someone your plans, pack more water than you think you'll need — and save the early morning or late afternoon light for your camera.

Want the full story? The Wikipedia article on "Sewell, West Virginia" covers Sewell in more depth — find the link in Sources below. County archives, historic newspaper collections, and the state historical society are the next stops after that: plat maps, census rolls, and old photographs fill in what a short visit can't. If you make the trip, consider sharing your photos and notes — firsthand reports are how the record of Sewell gets better.