Турмонд: Забытый город у реки Нью-Ривер

Thurmond is a town in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States, on the New River. The population was five at the 2020 census. During the heyday of coal mining in the New River Gorge, Thurmond was a prosperous town with a number of businesses and facilities for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Most of Thurmond is owned by the National Park Service for the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. The C&O passenger railway depot in town was renovated in 1995 and now functions as a Park Service visitor center. The entire town is a designated historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Thurmond is the least populous municipality in West Virginia. During the June 14, 2005, city elections six of the city's seven residents sought elected office.

Thurmond was incorporated in 1900 and was named for Captain W. D. Thurmond, who settled here in 1844. He received the 73 acre site in 1873 as payment for a surveying job. He served in the Confederate Army and died in 1910 at age 90. Thurmond post office was established in 1888 and discontinued in 1995. The community remained small until Thomas G McKell of Glen Jean negotiated with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway for a crossing at Dunloup Creek in 1892. W. D. Thurmond banned alcohol from his lands, which comprised the originally incorporated portion of the town. The Dun Glen Hotel was just outside the incorporated portion. A district called "Ballyhack" or "Balahack" on the south side near the Dun Glen became notorious as Thurmond's red light district. Two hotels were in the town; one was called the Lafayette (known locally as the "Lay flat"), which was close to the railroad, and the 100 room Dun Glen, which opened in 1901, became a nationally known resort. It burned down in 1930, marking the beginning of a decline that had Thurmond a virtual ghost town by the 1950s.

As of the census of 2010, there were five people, four households, and zero families residing in the town. The population density was The 12 housing units averaged The racial makeup of the town was 100% White. None of the four households were families. Three households were made up of individuals, and two had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 1.25, and the average family size was 0.00. The median age in the town was 57.5 years. None of residents were under the age of 24; 40% (two people) were from 25 to 44; 20% (one person) were from 45 to 64; and 40% (two people) were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the town was 20.0% (one) male and 80.0% (four people) female.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to Thurmond on the Cardinal route. It is the second least used Amtrak station after Sanderson, Texas.

The town was the filming location for John Sayles' 1987 movie Matewan since it still possesses many of the characteristics of a 1920s Appalachian coal town. The events took place in Matewan, West Virginia, which borders the Kentucky state line about 100 miles away. W. D. Thurmond banned alcohol from his lands, which comprised the originally incorporated portion of the town. The McKell family, though, had no such scruples, and their Dun Glen Hotel on McKell land just to the east of the Thurmond land became notorious for hosting a 14 year long card party claimed by Ripley's Believe It or Not to be the world's longest lasting poker game.