Eccles is a census-designated place (CDP) in Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. Eccles is located on West Virginia Route 3, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of Beckley. Eccles has a post office with ZIP code 25836.[4] As of the 2010 census, its population is 362.[3]
The community was originally named after the book of Ecclesiastes from the bible, where the mining company of its namesake was formed around the turn of the century. The name was later shortened by the local post office to Eccles to allow for easier postage and mail flow due to a common inability to correctly spell the name.[5] Eccles is the site of the April 28, 1914 Eccles coal mining disaster, which took the lives of 180 men.
References
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Eccles, West Virginia
- ^ a b "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ ZIP Code Lookup
- ^ Kenny, Hamill (1945). West Virginia Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning, Including the Nomenclature of the Streams and Mountains. Piedmont, WV: The Place Name Press. p. 222.
