Coalmont

History

A summary of Coalmont's documented history.

Coalmont was first known as Coaldale. In 1903, the Sewanee Coal, Coke and Land Company began mining coal here, and around 1904 the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company established the town to support its operations. The original community included approximately 100 company houses along with a company commissary, railroad station and freight depot, barber shop, boarding houses, a two-story schoolhouse, two churches, a theater, and a hotel known as the "Wigwam."

In 1908, the Sewanee Fuel and Iron Company purchased the holdings and built coke ovens on the site. The Coalmont branch of the railroad — an extension of the line known locally as the Mountain Goat — opened in 1904 and reached Palmer by 1917. Mining continued under the Tennessee Consolidated Coal Company until operations declined in the mid-20th century, with the rail line removed in stages between 1972 and 1985.

• 1903 The Sewanee Coal, Coke and Land Company begins mining at the site then known as Coaldale.
• 1904 The Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company establishes Coalmont as a company town, building approximately 100 houses, a commissary, depot, schoolhouse, theater, and the Wigwam Hotel. The rail line is extended to Coalmont.
• 1908 The Sewanee Fuel and Iron Company purchases the holdings and builds coke ovens on the site.
• 1917 The rail line is extended from Coalmont to Palmer for the Tennessee Consolidated Coal Company.
• 1921 The Coalmont Bank Building is constructed. It is later listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• 1957 Coalmont is incorporated as a city.
• 1972–1985 The rail lines built in 1917 are gradually removed; train operations cease in 1985.
• 2023 The Coalmont OHV Park holds its official ribbon-cutting after roughly twelve years of planning, becoming Tennessee's first city-owned off-highway vehicle park.