Jodie, West Virginia
Encyclopedia
Jodie is an unincorporated community in Fayette County
, West Virginia
, United States
. Jodie is located along the Gauley River
, at the mouth of Rich Creek, 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Gauley Bridge
. Due to its proximity to the county line, Jodie has a post office
with a Nicholas County ZIP code
of 26690.
was established in 1894, naming the town Imboden. The name of the town was changed to Jodie (the nickname
of local congressman Joseph H. Gaines
), in 1910. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad established a station in the community in 1912, named Bryce. In 1915, the Gauley Mountain Coal Company established Jodie as a company town
, utilizing existing lumber company houses as well as building additional ones to give the community its current look. A company store, movie theater
, and boarding house
was also built for the town, but they are now long gone. The houses were sold off to residents in the mid 1940s, and the local mines closed less than ten years later, forcing residents to commute elsewhere for employment.
Fayette County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,579 people, 18,945 households, and 13,128 families residing in the county. The population density was 72 people per square mile . There were 21,616 housing units at an average density of 33 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...
. Jodie is located along the Gauley River
Gauley River
The Gauley River is a river in West Virginia. It merges with the New River to form the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River. It is one of the most popular advanced whitewater runs in the Eastern United States and is the chief feature of the Gauley River National Recreation Area.-Headwaters...
, at the mouth of Rich Creek, 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Gauley Bridge
Gauley Bridge, West Virginia
Gauley Bridge is a town in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 738 at the 2000 census. The Kanawha River is formed at Gauley Bridge by the confluence of the New and Gauley Rivers...
. Due to its proximity to the county line, Jodie has a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
with a Nicholas County ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
of 26690.
History
The first houses in the community were built by local logging companies in the late 1800s. The first post officePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was established in 1894, naming the town Imboden. The name of the town was changed to Jodie (the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
of local congressman Joseph H. Gaines
Joseph H. Gaines
Joseph Holt 'Jodie' Gaines was a U.S. Representative from West Virginia.Born in Washington, D.C., Gaines moved with his parents to Fayette County, West Virginia, in 1867....
), in 1910. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad established a station in the community in 1912, named Bryce. In 1915, the Gauley Mountain Coal Company established Jodie as a company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
, utilizing existing lumber company houses as well as building additional ones to give the community its current look. A company store, movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
, and boarding house
Boarding house
A boarding house, is a house in which lodgers rent one or more rooms for one or more nights, and sometimes for extended periods of weeks, months and years. The common parts of the house are maintained, and some services, such as laundry and cleaning, may be supplied. They normally provide "bed...
was also built for the town, but they are now long gone. The houses were sold off to residents in the mid 1940s, and the local mines closed less than ten years later, forcing residents to commute elsewhere for employment.