Lyburn, West Virginia

Lyburn is an unincorporated mining community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Logan County

Logan County, West Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 37,710 people, 14,880 households, and 10,936 families residing in the county. The population density was 83 people per square mile . There were 16,807 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...

, West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Lyburn is also the home of the Bearwallow trailhead for the Hatfield-Mccoy ATV trail.

Mining accident

In 2002, a slurry pond break in the head of a hollow past Lyburn Post Office Road flooded more than ten residences. The pond, called "Pond 8A" is part of the Tower Mountain Surface Mine, which is operated by Bandmill Coal Corporation, a subsidiary of Massey Energy

Massey Energy

Massey Energy Company was a coal extractor in the United States with substantial operations in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. By revenue, it was the fourth largest producer of coal in the United States and the largest coal producer in Central Appalachia...

. The mine was originally permitted by Elkay Mining Company, a Pittston subsidiary, but was recently taken over by Bandmill. There are more than ten ponds on the mine site.