Kaymoor

The South's ghost towns run on cotton, timber, and rivers. Before the railroads, commerce moved by water, and West Virginia's river landings and port towns thrived. Kaymoor in Fayette County may have been one of them — or a railroad town that killed one. Cotton built the plantation economy and the towns that served it; the boll weevil and the Great Migration unbuilt them. Timber was the second act: lumber companies clear-cut the pine forests in a generation, built mill towns, and left. Each wave left its own ruins, which is why a single West Virginia county can hold ghost towns from three different centuries.

Little stands at Kaymoor 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.

Its park setting is good news for visitors: maintained access and marked routes, with firm rules about leaving every structure and artifact exactly as you found it.

Enter through the national park and follow designated roads and trails to the site. Federal rules protect every structure and artifact, so plan to look, photograph, and leave everything untouched.

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.

Kaymoor rewards the extra homework. County archives, historic newspaper collections, and the state historical society are the next stops after this guide — 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 Kaymoor gets better.