The coal industry has had a profound impact on Virginia’s economy, especially that of Tazewell County and the rest of Southwest Virginia. A leading symbol of this enterprise is the Pocahontas Mine No. 1, the first mine to tap the great Pocahontas-Flat Top Coal Field of 1882. The high quality of the coal in this huge seam created a demand for Pocahontas coal, and ushered in a long period of regional prosperity. A rail spur linked the mine with the Norfolk and Western Railroad by March 1883, and the shipyards and commercial areas of Norfolk and Newport News grew from coal exporting. At the same time, the town of Pocahontas grew up near the mine and became a regional commercial center as well as a “company town” housing the coal miners. The Pocahontas Mine No. 1 closed in 1955 after producing forty-four million tons, and has since been made a public attraction.