VULCAN, WV

Vulcan is an unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States. Vulcan is located along the Tug Fork across from the state of Kentucky. The community was named after Vulcan, the god of fire in Roman mythology. Vulcan received international attention when they requested aid from the Soviet Union to replace a collapsed bridge, the only legal entrance and exit into the community.

Vulcan was originally settled as a coal-mining community in the early 20th century, but by 1968 the coal supply had been exhausted and the town experienced significant depopulation.

Bridge

In 1972, the situation at Vulcan was described as:

Their biggest problem was that the state had forgotten to build a road into the community. Although state maps showed a road into Vulcan, it was nowhere to be found. The only way people could get in and out was to drive up the Kentucky side and walk across a swinging bridge, which was too narrow for a vehicle. The bridge had been built by the coal company years before and was on the verge of collapse; although there were boards missing, the children had to walk across it to catch the school bus on the Kentucky side.

In 1974–75, the bridge had completely collapsed due to wood rot, and the mayor of Vulcan had unsuccessfully lobbied both the state and federal government to replace it. Because of a lack of action the self-appointed mayor of Vulcan, John Robinette, in 1977 requested foreign aid from the Soviet Union and East Germany to replace the town's bridge. Soviet journalist Iona Andronov visited Vulcan on December 17, 1977, to meet with Robinette and survey the problem. Within an hour of his visit, reporters were told that the state would replace the bridge. The West Virginia Legislature provided $1.3 million in funding to replace the bridge which opened in 1980.

In Popular Culture

Vulcan is one of the settings within the Neil Gaiman novel American Gods and the television series of the same name, the home of Old God Vulcan, who maintains control over the town through their belief in the right to bear arms.