Spruce, West Virginia


Spruce is a ghost town in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, United States. Spruce is southwest of Durbin.

History

Spruce was settled in 1902 along Shavers Fork of Cheat River. The principal industry in the area was logging, and later coal mining. In 1904 the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company built a pulp mill nearby. The new community adjacent to the mill was also named Spruce, and the original settlement was renamed "Old Spruce." The Greenbrier and Elk Railroad served the town.
The pulp mill in Spruce closed in 1925, and the equipment was moved to the company's paper mill in Luke, Maryland. Subsequently, the town declined and it eventually was abandoned.