Nora is a small, unincorporated town in Dickenson County

Dickenson County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,395 people, 6,732 households, and 4,887 families residing in the county. The population density was 49 people per square mile . There were 7,684 housing units at an average density of 23 per square mile...

 in the state of Virginia. In the 2000 US census, its population is listed as 566. Nora is built along one side of the McClure River

McClure River

The McClure River is a tributary of the Russell Fork in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located in Dickenson County in the southwestern part of the state. Via the Russell Fork, the Levisa Fork, the Big Sandy River, and the Ohio River, it is part of the Mississippi River...

. Ervinton High School is located in Nora.

Coal mining has always been the primary business for the town and county. However, in recent years natural gas production has increased sharply because it has become possible to extract gas from the underlying Huron Shale formation. The Huron Shale deposit in this part of Virginia is called the Nora Field .

History

The site of the town was originally called "Mouth of Open Fork", and in 1882 it was briefly the county seat of the newly formed Dickenson County.

In 1904, a post office was built at Mouth of Open Fork, and the first postmaster, W. A. Dorton, arranged for the town and post office to be named for his wife Nora.

The Clinchfield Railroad

Clinchfield Railroad

The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina...

, which was built to haul coal from the area, passes through Nora. Construction of the railroad was completed in 1915, when the last track was laid near Nora.

Up through the 1960s, Nora was known locally as "Tiger Town", because the tiny village had three taverns, resulting in frequent alcohol-induced brawls.

In 1977, the McClure River flooded and destroyed much of the town.

People associated with Nora include:

• Margaret Binns (1884-1968). A native of Brooklyn, NY and a graduate of Vassar College, she came to Nora in 1915 on the first train to reach the town. She worked for 50 years as deaconess of the small Episcopal Church in Nora. Her home was a gathering place and recreation center for the children of the town.
• Ralph Stanley
  Ralph Stanley
  Ralph Stanley , also known as Dr. Ralph Stanley, is an American bluegrass artist, known for his distinctive singing and banjo playing.-Biography:...
  
  , bluegrass musician, grew up in the nearby town of McClure, and he attended high school at Nora.
• Kathleen Counts (? - 1983). Counts was a coal miner from Nora. In 1983 she was killed, along with six others, in a mine explosion at McClure. She is believed to be the first woman miner killed in the US.
• Trazel Silvers was a basketball player at Ervinton High School, and he later played professionally, first for the Harlem Globetrotters
  Harlem Globetrotters
  The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
  
  , and then for several teams in Europe.