Beautifully engraved certificate from the Forest Hill Mining and Manufacturing Company issued in 1859. This historic document was printed by W.A. Wheeler and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of steam engine with two ladies to the left and the Virginia State Seal to the right. This item is hand signed by the Company's President ( Chas. L. Hale ), Secretary ( Dairo G. Barwitz ) and Trustee ( Robert Soutter ). This item is over 145 years old. This bond was secured by 2100 acres of coal lands in Fayette County, Virginia.
Certificate Vignette The Forest Hill Mining and Manufacturing Company was capitalized and staffed by English professionals and annually produced fifty-two thousand barrels of refined coal oil and employed over forty men in 1859. This industrializing district also had the largest percentage of heads of household with no real estate and the least number of farming households, 55.4 percent. When this certificate was issued, there was no state of West Virginia. As a result of the Civil War, West Virginia became a seperate state which is where Fayette County is now located.