Bramwell

History

In the 1880s the region around Bramwell began to rapidly grow as a coal mining center with several coal camps operating in the area. The town of Bramwell was officially established in 1888, and was named after J.H. Bramwell, a civil engineer. In the late 1800s the town acquired some notoriety for having the largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States. Numerous large homes were built in the town by wealthy coal operators. On January 7, 1910, part of the downtown area was destroyed by a major fire. Twenty-one buildings were burned to the ground. In 1984, the town was named to the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Many of the houses are early 20th century in design. There is a museum largely devoted to the local coal and train history of the area.

Geography

Bramwell is situated along the Bluestone River, just east of the Virginia-West Virginia state line. U.S. Route 52 passes through the eastern part of Bramwell, connecting the town with Bluefield to the south and Northfork the northwest. Pinnacle Rock State Park lies just southeast of Bramwell. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Bramwell is located 0.3 miles (0.5 km) from an access point to the Pocohontas Trail system, a component of the Hatfield-McCoy trails. The Hatfield-McCoy trails include over 700 miles (1127 km) of primitive roads typically utilized by dirt bikes and All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). These trails are managed by the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Trail Authority.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,541
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  1,028
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  983
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  940
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  908
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  897
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  865
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  855

Most recent

• M 2.57 — 2023-07-08
  Virginia-North Carolina border region
• M 2.71 — 2023-07-06
  5 km S of Hillsville, Virginia
• M 2.55 — 2023-06-17
  2 km N of Pembroke, Virginia
• M 2.59 — 2022-10-25
  Virginia-North Carolina border region
• M 2.56 — 2021-09-27
  4 km N of Lafayette, Virginia
• M 2.76 — 2021-07-15
  10 km S of Narrows, Virginia