MATOAKA

NAME: Matoaka
COUNTY: Mercer
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 4
CLIMATE: Summer: Hot; Spring-Fall: Pleasant; Winter:Cold
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Spring-Summer 		COMMENTS: Easily found on State Route 10 about 15 miles northwest of Princeton, Matoaka boasts the best ghostly downtown area I've seen anywhere. One solid block of 2-3 story brick buildings on both sides of the street, completely abandoned. While the town has some residents in a pleasant residential area, there is NO business and residents must drive to Princeton for shopping. The ghostly downtown looks like a movie set!
REMAINS: lots of abandoned brick structures

Matoaka grew as a railroad and commercial town for the mines in the Bluefield District. At one time it had two banks and a solid business block of brick structures. As coal mining died out, so did the town. Today around 200 residents live there, but it is a wonderful ghost. Submitted by: Mark Hotz

I visited Matoaka in October 2011. The place is indeed a very small,
run-down town with many abandoned store fronts and houses, though
there are still enough people around to make a human presence felt.

The block of stores along the main strip is not totally abandoned:
There is a mom-and-pop convenience store and two or three secondhand
goods stores there. Some of the upper levels of the buildings are also
rented out as apartments.

Here is the first in a series of five short videos I made of the town
while there: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr_YiV7jOZc&feature=g-upl&context=G28cdc66AUAAAAAAAfAA


Matoaka
Courtesy Mark Hotz


Matoaka Bank
Courtesy Mark Hotz

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