Dante, Virginia
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Dante is a
census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
in
Russell Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) ** Bertrand Russell *Justice Russell (disambiguation) Places *Russell Island (disambiguation) *Mount Russel ...
and Dickenson counties,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 649.


History

Dante (rhymed with "paint", sometimes rhymed with "pant", but never rhymed with "
Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
") was originally called "Turkeyfoot" due to the confluence of hollows. It was originally settled in the late 1700s and early 1800s by western frontiersmen. Explosive growth occurred in the early 1900s with the discovery and exploitation of numerous bituminous
coal seams Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extra ...
. Southern industrialist George L. Carter made it the northern terminus of the
Clinchfield Railroad The Clinchfield Railroad was an operating and holding company for the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railway . The line ran from the coalfields of Virginia and Elkhorn City, Kentucky, to the textile mills of South Carolina. The 35-mile segmen ...
and the headquarters of the Clinchfield Coal Company, which began to mine the nearby hollows (mainly Bear Wallow and Straight Hollow) during the early part of the 20th century. As a result, immigrants from
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
,
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and other central European countries flocked to the area. In 1912, the construction of the Sandy Ridge Tunnel just north of Dante allowed the Clinchfield Railroad to extend all the way to
Elkhorn City, Kentucky Elkhorn City is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Pike County, Kentucky, Pike County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 1,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located in proximity to ...
. The coal seams surrounding the community were largely exhausted by the mid-1960s and were closed in favor of new mines such as Moss #3 (A, B, C and D mines) in Duty, Virginia. Dante was mostly a decaying
coal town A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch, is a type of company town or mining community established by the employer, a mining company, which imports workers to the site to work the mineral find. The company develops it and provides reside ...
until 2016, when a renewed interest from its residents prompted community organizations to begin discussions on a path to revitalization. This plan has included reestablishment of a general store and redevelopment of the many abandoned Clinchfield Railroad grades and mine tramways into
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trails.
CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...
terminated rail crew operations at Dante Yard in 2015, and the Clinchfield Coal Company offices are now apartments.


Revitalization

In early 2016 the Dante Community Association was formed with citizens of Dante and representatives from Russell County. The goal of the organization is to promote the revitalization of Dante and the surrounding area by investing in infrastructure, economic development, and the community at large, they are currently in the process of applying for a planning grant.


Geography

Dante is located in northwestern Russell County. The Dante CDP extends west into Dickenson County to include the settlement of West Dante. The communities are located in the valley of Lick Creek, which flows south to the
Clinch River The Clinch River is a river that flows southwest for more than through the Great Appalachian Valley in the U.S. states of Virginia and Tennessee, gathering various tributaries, including the Powell River, before joining the Tennessee River in ...
at
St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
, and is thus part of the
Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...
watershed. Sandy Ridge, overlooking Dante to the north, lies along the Tennessee Valley Divide, with waters on the opposite side flowing north via the
McClure River The McClure River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 13, 2011 tributary of the Russell Fork in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is located in Dickenson County in th ...
to the
Russell Fork The Russell Fork, 1975 Board on Geographic Names decision is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 13, 2011 tributary of the Levisa Fork in southwestern Virginia and sout ...
/
Levisa Fork The Levisa Fork (also known as the Levisa Fork River or the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River) is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Nat ...
/ Big Sandy River system, reaching the
Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...
near
Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...
. Dante is north of St. Paul and south of Clinchco via
Virginia State Route 63 State Route 63 (SR 63) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of Virginia. The state highway runs from U.S. Route 58 Alternate (US 58 Alternate) in St. Paul, Virginia, St. Paul north to Virginia State Route 80, SR 80 and Virginia State ...
.


Demographics

Dante was first listed as a
census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
in the 2010 U.S. Census.


Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Dante has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Dante, Virginia
/ref>


References


External links



{{authority control Census-designated places in Russell County, Virginia Census-designated places in Dickenson County, Virginia Census-designated places in Virginia Coal towns in Virginia