Copen is an unincorporated 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 Braxton County, central 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...

. Located at the confluence of Copen Creek and Bull Fork Creek. Its most famous resident was Melvin Wine

Melvin Wine

Melvin Wine was an American old-time fiddler from the state of West Virginia. He lived in Copen, in Braxton County, West Virginia....

 (1909–2003), an acclaimed old-time

Old-time music

Old-time music is a genre of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of many countries, including England, Scotland, Ireland and countries in Africa. It developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance, buck dance, and clogging. The genre also...

 fiddler

Fiddler

A fiddler is a person who plays a fiddle or violin.Fiddler may also refer to:*Fabrangen Fiddlers, an American musical group founded in 1971*Tupolev Tu-28 "Fiddler", a fighter aircraft*Fiddler , a DC Comics villain...

.

Neighboring towns: Flower; 1.5 miles west, Arnette; SE, Burnsville; east, Bower; north

Copen Yellowjackets

Former Home of the Copen Yellowjackets mens softball team (1977–1997). The team played in the Braxton/Gilmer Softball League, ASA and USSSA, and appeared in several state tournaments (Class D and E). the Yellowjackets placed in dozens of other tournaments throughout Central WV. The corp members of the team stayed together through most of the 20 years of the teams existence. The team played its home games at the Copen Softball Field located on J. Wine's farm.

Copen School

Home of The Copen School (?-1969). A 3 room K-8 school. Former poling place for Copen. Currently the location of the Copen Independent Baptist Church.

Train Station

Former location of a railstop between Burnsville and Gassaway. The station has been dismantled. There is a small general store

General store

A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...

located near the site.

Coal

Copen and the Copen Creek Valley were home to various coal companies from before the 1900s through the last company(Copen Coal) in the early 1980s. Most of the later activities were concentrated in and around Bower Hollow. The main coal boom was in the 1930s and 1940s, causing a boom in the population of the Copen Creek Valley