In a 1990 letter to the Beckley Register-Herald editor, widely known Democratic Party advocate and city beautifier Florine Warden boldly asserted, “If any structure in West Virginia should be taken into the historical society, it’s Casa Loma.” Well, it's finally happened! The Raleigh County Historical Society (RCHS) Historical Marker Program has acquired an official state marker summarizing Casa Loma’s unique story — first as the posh private residence of “coal baron” Ernest E. Chilson and later as a major United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) administrative center.
The marker, paid for by RCHS, is an atypical design, featuring different inscriptions on obverse and reverse. A brief dedication ceremony will be at 10 a.m.
Wednesday, May 29, in front of Casa Loma, 2306 S. Fayette St. (W.
Va. 3) in Beckley. Officials of the City of Beckley, UMWA and RCHS will deliver remarks.
Raleigh Coal and Coke Company (RC&CC) mined coal in the area from 1898 until 1950, under the trade name Black Knight. It was the area's oldest active producer and at one time the county's largest operation. “Colonel” Ernest E.
Chilson, the company president and general manager, is credited with much of RC&CC’s success. He grew the company from 150 men producing 150,000 tons a year, to 900 men producing over 1 million tons annually by 1930. Chilson was also a prominent local civic leader who, among other achievements, founded the Black Knight Country Club.
He is remembered as conducting an .
