Episode Details

At the bottom of West Virginia’s New River Gorge, the nearly abandoned railroad town of Thurmond hides a history of coal wealth, rival businessmen, gambling, violence and suspicious deaths. This episode traces the rise of Thurmond and the infamous Dun Glen Hotel, the crimes that earned the area a lawless reputation, and the town’s transformation from a booming C&O railroad center into a preserved part of New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.

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Episode Sources

• “Thurmond.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/thurmond.htm
• “Thurmond Walking Tour.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Jan. 6, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/thurmond-walking-tour.htm
• “Gambling at the Dunglen Hotel.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. https://www.nps.gov/neri/learn/historyculture/gambling-at-the-dunglen-hotel.htm
• “Thurmond Passenger Depot.” National Park Service, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.
• “New River Gorge National Park and Preserve.” National Park Service. Background on the 1978 establishment of New River Gorge National River and the 2020 redesignation as a national park and preserve.
• Harper, R. Eugene. “Thurmond Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places nomination form, Sept. 15, 1983. http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/fayette/84003520.pdf
• National Park Service. “Thurmond Historic Structures Assessment: New River Gorge National River, West Virginia.” http://www.quid-tum.com/documents/thurmond_assessment_report.pdf
• Cox, W. Eugene. “Dun Glen Hotel.” The West Virginia Encyclopedia, April 23, 2019. https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/1973
• “Burning of the Dunglen Hotel.” West Virginia Archives and History, July 23, 1930. http://www.wvculture.org/history/businessandindustry/dunglen01.html
• Knight, Wallace E. “Dunglen Hotel.” West Virginia Archives and History, May 4, 1952. http://www.wvculture.org/history/businessandindustry/dunglen02.html
• “July 22, 1930: Fayette County’s Dun Glen Hotel Destroyed by Arson.” West Virginia Public Broadcasting, July 22, 2020. https://www.wvpublic.org/radio/2020-07-22/july-22-1930-fayette-countys-dun-glen-hotel-destroyed-by-arson
• “The Dunglen Hotel: The Historic Hotspot for Trouble.” New River Gorge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Oct. 22, 2014. https://newrivergorgecvb.com/dunglen-hotel/
• Hufford, Mary. “Breaking the Time Barrier: Folklife and Heritage Planning in Southern West Virginia.” Folklife Center News, vol. 15, nos. 3-4, July 1, 1993.
• Tabler, Dave. “Women, Booze,