The Elk Refinery was a major employer in the area and through its sixty years of existence, petroleum products of every kind had been refined and distributed all through West Virginia. There was little area for growth and since usable actual property was a useful commodity within the slender valley, a foot bridge was constructed spanning the Elk River to attach the refinery with the north financial institution at a location that staff could park and stroll throughout to work.
The peak years were through the World Warfare II era into the 1950s. By the 1970s, the plant was nonetheless operating and generating on common nine carloads every of rail traffic on three weekday stops with variances owing to provide and demand. In 1983, Pennzoil elected to close the refinery primarily resulting from obsolescence as the ability was dated and would have required in depth and costly upgrading. This closing was a significant blow to the area economically and to the railroad.
Within the early teenagers, _ELK REFINING Company_ was based in Falling Rock EV. Elk appears to have been formed as an affiliate company of United.
1925-1929 ~ Intensive expansions to the United and Elk refineries permit for the production of gasoline and gasoline oil, including this to their ever rising lubricants business.
1929 ~ The inventory market crashes, and Elk refining is getting able to enter the retail gasoline and automotive lubricant enterprise via branding and distribution. They’re packaging their automotive lubricants as _Elk_ and start advertising and marketing Elk Gasoline. _KEYSTONE_ is deemed the model identify of United_s retail gasoline, and the end of the 30_s the Elk refining stations are promoting Keystone branded fuel as nicely.