Largest WV Landowners from a 1974 report
Based on an analysis on 1974 tax maps a report found that “in almost 50 per cent of West Virginia counties, at least half the land is owned by the out-of-state corporate interests”.
Undoubtedly things have changed since then - but the report is interesting nonetheless.
Absentees Dominate Land Ownership.
In Marion County the largest landowner was Consolidation Coal Co. with 124,503 acres at the time of the report.
The author takes a clear stance on the subject:
Often paying tiny property taxes, they extract the state’s rich deposits of coal, timber, oil and gas. And their activities inevitably help sustain the striking paradox of a state with abundant mineral wealth and much abject poverty.”
blog comments powered by Disqus