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One Hancock County mining town history warrants another

Co-authors Tom Zielinsky, George B. Hines III release book on Zalia

IT’S DONE — “Zalia, Hancock County, West Virginia — Rediscovering a Lost Community” is the second of two books about long-gone mining communities in New Cumberland that captured the interest of Tom Zielinsky of Weirton, right, and George B. Hines III of New Cumberland. The first was “Rockyside, A Forgotten Mining Community.” The co-authors will kick off its completion with a book signing beginning at 10:30 a.m. March 29 at the Swaney Memorial Library at 210 S. Court St., New Cumberland. It will be an open house atmosphere with light refreshments served and run until 1 p.m., depending on attendance. Another book signing is on the calendar for April 25 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center, 3149 Main St., Weirton. Beginning March 29, the book will be available for sale there as well as at the Swaney Memorial Library and Davis Brothers Pharmacy in New Cumberland and Chester. The books are signed by both authors and sell for $15. -- Contributed

WEIRTON — One history-preserving book on a long-gone local mining community warrants another.

For co-authors Tom Zielinsky of Weirton and George B. Hines III of New Cumberland that seems the case with the release of their second collaborative effort.

This one is titled “Zalia, Hancock County, West Virginia — Rediscovering a Lost Community.”

It comes on the heels of “Rockyside, A Forgotten Mining Community,” an undertaking that constituted two years of local research. That book came out in 2017.

The latter book started when Zielinsky casually wondered about the history of Rockyside, where his parents had been born.

The Zalia book was born out of a suggestion broached at a “Rockyside” book-signing.

And now both little mining communities have their history defined — something that probably never would have happened.

Such details and insights likely will come to light in the coming weeks as the co-authors kick off its availability with a book signing beginning at 10:30 a.m. March 29 at the Swaney Memorial Library at 210 S. Court St., New Cumberland. It will be an open house atmosphere with light refreshments served and run until 1 p.m., depending on attendance.

Another book signing is on the calendar for April 25 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. That one will be held at the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center, 3149 Main St. Beginning March 29, the book will be available for sale there as well as at the Swaney Memorial Library and Davis Brothers Pharmacy in New Cumberland and Chester. The books are signed by both authors and sell for $15.

Zielinsky has never professed to be a history buff, using that as motivation to research and write.

“As I’ve stated before, I was really not much into history until I started researching information on Rockyside,” Zielinsky noted. “What I discovered was how much I didn’t know about the place where both my parents were born. I remember my mother telling stories about growing up on that hillside and having to walk daily to and from Catholic school in New Cumberland. I just brushed it off and never gave it a second thought. But, after doing research and finding amazing facts and information that would have been lost otherwise, I think I was bitten by the history bug,” Zielinsky confessed.

And something else, too.

“What I’ve come to realize is that if George and I didn’t do research and write about all that we could find, nothing would exist today,” he said. “We needed to dig out facts and pictures and information so it could be reflected on by those who knew nothing about that amazing hillside,” he said of his excitement, knowing that the two have documented another piece of forgotten history of an area around New Cumberland.

Getting the chance to research and write about the community of Zalia was an opportunity the two jumped on.

“Well,” joked Zielinski, “maybe I jumped on it, and George just looked on.”

Their mission, though, was simple — “to preserve history in some small way so future generations can look back and see how it all began.”

The Zalia book got its start just as the Rockyside book was being promoted at a book signing in New Cumberland. A Weirton woman suggested it.

“I personally didn’t know Mrs. Monnie (Beatty) Mack at the time, but she suggested we do a book on Zalia,” he said.

“To put these two locations into some perspective, Rockyside, the community, sits to the north about one and one-half miles miles outside the New Cumberland city limit. Zalia, the community, sits to the south about one and one-half miles outside the New Cumberland city limit,” he said. “These communities were both started as mining communities, because they were situated near the brickyards and sewer pipe plants; however, they were diversely different. In order for the history of New Cumberland to be complete, both of these mining communities had to be researched and documented,” he said.

Zalia sat on old Route 2 between Holbert’s Run Road and Rainey Hill Road and had some 300 people at one time. It was home to a gasoline station, two country stores and a little bar called Sam Hamill’s.

Rockyside was once located along state Route 2, just south of where the West Virginia State Police Barracks are now. It is the hillside located 1 mile north outside of New Cumberland along Route 2.

The community had an estimated 50-year existence, from about 1880 to roughly 1930, and thrived on nearby mines and potteries. Its mines were a source of clay.

Few people know that that small community also at one time was home to more than 300 people, mostly immigrants from Eastern Europe.

Rockyside was a community of eastern European immigrants that provided the work force for the brickyards north of New Cumberland. They started families, and after the brickyards closed, they moved into New Cumberland to start the next chapter of their life.

One of the first one-room schools was built on this hillside, along with the first Catholic church in 1903. Now nothing remains.

The research approach for Zalia mirrored the approach for Rockyside.

“We began by preparing a list of names of people that could possibly remember this little community, either by having actually lived there, or knowing someone who did,” Zielinsky explained. “As you might expect, our list was very short in names. But, like with Rockyside, the people who did come forward had excellent information if we could verify it,” he said.

Research began in 2018 with an interview with Dorothy Hudson from New Cumberland.

“After a nearly two-hour sit-down, we became armed with some necessary ammunition we needed,” Zielinsky noted.

“The next interview was with the person who started us on this journey — Mrs. Monnie (Beatty) Mack. After her information was taken, I compared that to what Mrs. Hudson told us and tried to find similarities and discrepancies,” he said.

“Working from the discrepancies, I started on-line computer searches to make sure our information was correct and could be verified. This took months tracking down leads and using every available resource we could find so we could verify our information. These resources included facilities in Virginia, Ohio, West Virginia and the Library of Congress,” he continued.

Then came an unexpected bonus.

“Suddenly out of the blue, I received an e-mail from an old grade-school friend who wanted to help,” Zielinsky explained.

“A New Cumberland native, he left the area many years earlier and moved west. He kept current with local events through on-line newspaper searches. It was these newspaper searches that contributed to much of our success. He was able to access information from a completely different angle,” he said.

The search for photos, however, was somewhat disappointing.

“Like with Rockyside, I was hoping for more pictures of the actual town itself. I was disappointed not getting photos of Zalia roads and the buildings that were built there. Since only a few pictures were found, I’m assuming, like Rockyside, a camera was considered a luxury, so very few pictures were taken,” Zielinsky noted.

“However, we did receive a number of photos of the surrounding area that allowed us to piece together a very interesting visual history of this area. The majority of those pictures, and especially important, were the pictures that Mrs. Monnie Mack provided. However, the one picture that demands acknowledgment and a huge gratitude of appreciation, was a photo — the only photo of the actual Zalia area,” he noted.

“While working with Dennis Jones at the Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center, he pointed me in the direction of Curt Lehman from Weirton,” Zielinsky said.

“Mr. Lehman, it turns out, has been a collector of a variety of amazing subject matter during his entire life. He just so happened to find, while searching eBay, a postcard of the Toronto, Ohio, ferry landing. The photo was actually taken from the Toronto ferry landing with Zalia in the background. So, what we actually see in the photo is of the Zalia train station along with the Zalia ferry landing. We estimate the photo was taken sometime around 1915 since no date was available on the photo,” he continued.

“It would be the second train station in this area before the railroad closed it down. Having this photo allowed our good friend and professional artist, Jim Watson from Steubenville, to paint an oil representation of this area. This picture is featured on the covers of the book,” he added.

The contrast between Rockyside and Zalia constituted the most interesting information uncovered, according to Zielinsky.

“Rockyside, to the north, sat on a hillside overlooking the brickyards and Ohio River with no conveniences at all. The closest general store was in New Cumberland, nearly two miles away,” Zielinsky said. “Zalia, to the south, on the other hand, also was located alongside brickyards and the Ohio River, but managed to have a total of three general stores and a one-pump gasoline station, not to mention a swinging bar and dance hall. You have to read the book for more details,” he noted.

“People moved off of the Rockyside hillside in the early 1950s, while people were still located in the Zalia area in the late 1960s,” he continued.

“We found that the closing of so many brickyards in the north forced people to leave that hillside. Despite brickyards closing as early as 1904 in the south near Zalia, people could find work at the new steel mill beginning to take shape in Weirton. This meant people could stay a little while longer in their homes before having to move into Weirton to be closer to work,” he explained.

“We think the most exciting avenue the book provides, other than some interesting pictures and stories, is a chronology of events from early 1830 until around 1949,” Zielinsky said.

“This chronology provides a look at the lives of people living in Zalia during this period and how events happening at that time changed their lives. These events came from actual newspaper articles published during this time frame. We discuss how the name Zalia came about and the difficulty of getting information about this area. In early 1830, this area was Brooke County, Virginia. A lot of important documents that were captured and sent to Richmond, Va., were lost somehow in travel and never made it. So, we move the reader along a path from Zalia, Va., to Zalia, W.Va., and through five physical transformations before becoming the area it is today,” he said.

Zalia’s history has been successfully captured, according to Zielinsky.

“We believe, like with Rockyside, we have established a benchmark for these two areas that documents history correctly and accurately,” he said.

“Future generations can see how difficult and productive these two communities became through the hardworking individuals and families that lived in and survived these areas. It was both challenging and rewarding, but in the end, the contribution made was enormous.”

Zielinsky said he’s always available to speak at any function or event where people are interested to learn about the area’s history.

“I believe our work is now finished, as this chapter closes on brickmaking and the life in these two little communities that surrounded the town of New Cumberland,” Zielinsky said.

But the research and collaborating isn’t over for the two local men.

“As for our next project, we do have something in the works,” he noted.

“If — and I emphasize if — we decide to move forward with our next project, it will be the largest undertaking yet,” Zielinsky said.

“Preliminary discussions are under way, and over the next several months, I hope to have a rough draft to review with everyone involved to see if this is feasible,” he noted.

“Stay tuned.”

(Kiaski can be contacted at jkiaski@heraldstaronline.com.)

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