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Hinton is a small town (pop ~2900) in south-central West Virginia. In the heyday of coal and railroads, it was a major division point on the C&O Railroad. It is a few miles south of I-64, between Beckley to the west and Lewisburg to the east. The New River flows through town; the Greenbrier joins the New just upriver (south) of the town.
We vacationed at Bluestone State Park, about 5 miles south of town, a couple of Christmas's ago. There's a small downtown area, with a few shops, restaurants, and a 1950's era (or earlier) movie theater (single-plex) that was only open on Friday and Saturday nights.
There's some newer retail about a mile south of downtown, on what I'm guessing was the old railroad yard. There was a Kroger's, a chain drugstore, a couple of fast food places, gas stations, etc. I believe there was also a Dollar store, and maybe another grocery store, nearby.
The town's population was much larger during the railroad days, so I'd guess that housing prices would be quite reasonable. We did see, however, several houses built on the slopes where the foundations had started to slide downhill, so you'd want to look at that carefully. Some newer housing is located in the outskirts of town, although there isn't anything you would call a housing development.
Overall, I thought it was a nice little town, provided you don't have high entertainment expectations (other than watching the coal trains go through town ). But as some other threads have indicated, there are a number of other small towns to consider, including Lewisburg, Elkins, Marlinton, etc.
just to add to the above message:
entertainment-summers county high school within 2 miles, great sport programs for the children, nice park by the bluestone dam, fishing is some of the best, white water rafting, one of the best state (pipestem) parks within 20 miles, 4yr. private college within 25 miles (concord), great flea market within 20 miles (pence springs), working drive-in theatre within 30 miles, several town celebrations every year,i.e. train excurions come to town, arts & crafts, parades!, fireworks, one of the oldest rivers in the world (new river) and one of a few in the world known to flow north! amtrak comes thru, two interstate systems within 10/30 miles (I-64 & I-77), beautiful bluestone lake within minutes for boating, etc., towns of lewisburg, princeton and beckley within 1 hr in all directions, roanoke, va. within 2hrs., plenty to do and be entertained here!
Last edited by wvajim; 02-12-2007 at 09:07 AM..
Reason: spelling.
thank you! thank you!! so you would say it is not in the boonies, people are nice, and not to far to get to basic necess and to find work, I guess in Beckley? what about resturants??
my husband and I are currently living in Hinton and to be honest I am doing the only thing there is to do in the whole town. Sitting at the library!!! If you need to isolate yourself and think alot, ALOT then this is the place for you. Honestly, when you walk outside, you feel like you went back in time and got stuck! I am from Beckley, and would strongly suggest if you are forced to move to this area you will be much happier there! The restaurants are your typical chain with a few independent. Nightlife sucks, but there is a bar uptown Fosters that has weekly local bands. From there you are 20 min from the New River with some of the best rafting in the world, along with awesome rock climbing. Winterplace Ski Resort is right up the road (where I grew up). Please reconsider Hinton, for you will sink into deep depression like us!
darn, that's depressing! We are planning to look at land up that way so we can move there in 5 years and be near our friends in Shady Spring. I could care less about night life, too old for that, but I do like to go to the movies, shopping, and eat good pizza. I was told you can get to Lewisburg easy.
yep Lewisburg is about 45 minutes away,with two routes to take. About 45 min. and the other roughly an hour. Ironically enough I am with my husband enjoying some coffee at the Wild Bean Cafe as I write! Not to turn you off to So. WV but do some research on Hinton before you sett your sites there!!
If you dont mind me asking, where abouts in Hinton are you? I was looking up by Leatherwood Road/Cave Ridge Road..are you familiar?? How are the people in town? I have heard they are really nice and all the things you need are in town. DO you have friends in town or nearby??
i live in hinton as well, and to say the least its DULL especially for a 16 year old (me). but i guess if you are looking for a nice quite place to live then you'll probably like it, however i do suggest not living in downtown hinton, people dealing drugs and breaking into houses have become quite common in that area so yea out leatherwood road and back in there would be good. or there is a place right off of downtown hinton called bellepoint its a pretty nice little place its near bluestone dam and bluestone park, so if you dont wanna be too far back in the wilderness i would suggest bellepoint.
we actually live in Pipestem way out in the country. The closest town to us is Hinton. My husband was a contract geologist for company in Bluefield. We love the scenery here, but it is lacking in culture which is a must for our personal growth as beings!! Hinton has history of the railroad years, but honestly most of the population is on well fare or social security. This kind of sets the vibe for the area. I was thinking you should check out Fayettteville, WV. There are lots of unique restaurants and cute shops. The people seem to be all on the same wave length!! Lots of positive energy flowing through there. I know you said you had friends in Shady Spring, (that's where I grew up) and Fayetteville is about 30 minutes away, roughly the same distance from HInton. The New River is there as well, and you can probably find land just as cheap! Hope this is helpful and I'm delighted you see interest in my homeland!
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Hinton
). But as some other threads have indicated, there are a number of other small towns to consider, including Lewisburg, Elkins, Marlinton, etc.
