I had driven through Sinks Grove on my way to one destination or another, for work, but didn’t have time to stop and explore, or take pictures. I did, however, take note and mark the small Monroe County, WV community as a place to go back to and explore. There’s not much there any more for anyone looking for anything other than a largely abandoned backwoods town. There’s an operational post office, and that’s about it. Anyone in need of gas, snacks or just about anything else, will have to go elsewhere.
There’s a rusty Esso gas pump that once fueled cars and trucks in the community, when leaded gas was still a thing. It’s right beside Bob & Bob Speleo General Store. If you’re searching for caving gear and supplies, you’re out of luck. The store closed a few years back with the passing of it’s propritor, Bob Liebman, who was well known in speleological circles. His motto, still visible on the store-front facade “Cavers Serving Cavers.”
The location of the old store in Sinks Grove is appropriate. As you might have guessed, the town name refers to the many sink holes that dot the karstic landscape, denoting that the area below the ground is littered with caves, caverns and streams that have been cut through limestone bedrock.
The rain had just quit, and my wife and I decided to get out of the house for a little while and explore , and maybe, get a picture, or two, between spring showers. Our pug and French bulldog, Daisy and Dolly, jumped into the truck, and we were off.
Sinks Grove is just a few miles northwest of Union, the Monroe County seat. The southern West Virginia county is a friendly place that somehow that has never made it fully into the 21st century. And, that is a plus in many respects. There’s no fast food restaurants. No traffic lights, and more cows than people, as the residents will proudly point out.
Sadly, many of the charming old Sinks Grove homes are in various stages of decline. I parked at the post office, the only place to pull off the road, and walked around the small community and snapped a few pictures. I’m going to do a little more research and make it back to the area, as I know there’s a lot more to see and record.
Beautiful pictures and commentary very interesting. I love old houses and the area around the buildings is beautiful.
Thanks, Christine. Glad you liked the pictures and article. I hope to be back in the area again soon for more pictures.
The name of the community is Sinks Grove, without the apostrophe. I know this because I was born and raised there and still go back at least once a year. When I was growing up in the 1940s and 50s the three large buildings—the one with the Bob and Bob’s sign, the one directly across the road, and the one where the Post Office is located—were all general stores. We knew all the owners because they lived in the community. There were other businesses in the village. Up on Route 3 there was a gas station with a full-service garage for car and truck repairs, and two different restaurants. I attended school there for grades one through eight. The school was in a large two-story building which had previously been Rocky Point Academy. Rocky Point was the name of the village before it was changed to Sinks Grove. Many memories there!
Thanks you. I’ve made the correction in the article. It’s always wonderful to hear from the people who are part of the story, and have lived in, and know the history and details of the community.
Thank you so much for a trip down memory lane. My father was born in Sinks Grove, WV and after WWII he left the Navy and moved to Illinois where he raised his family. My dad would take us back to Sinks Grove every year for a two week vacation. I am now 72 years old living in Texas and these fond memories of my childhood are forever in my heart. Thank you again for the wonderful pictures
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed the pictures of Sinks Grove as it is today.
Thank you for this! When I was caving this was my main base. Bob Liebman and Patty Daw lived there where the business was, and Jim Hixson rented a house just down the road. Years later PAG used Bill Liebman’s house, a block away, as a fieldhouse. Sinks Grove has a special place in my caving memory.
Judith, thanks for the information. I used to do some caving back home in Kentucky during my college days. I wish I had been here when the store was open.
Do you know who owned/owns any of the homes that are shown? My family is from Sinks Grove, and Wolf Creek area. They appear to be abandoned now, and would certainly be an interesting place to do some treasure hunting! Oh yes, and there is The Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church in the area where many of my ancestors are buried.
Thanks!
I should have posted in the comment above about the homes in Sinks Gove that my maiden name is Bowyer; my ties are through the Bowyer families.
Sheila, I don’t know the property owners. I spent a short amount of time at the location shooting pictures from the road. I’m sure some of the property owners could see this post, and may respond.
The yellow house is where my mom grew up. We still own it and I own the small property across from Bob and Bob. I spent every summer of my life there from 0-16 yrs old. We still continue to use the house. But as you can see it needs some work. My parents continued to use the home until they couldn’t travel anymore. They passed away and are buried at the Presbyterian church on the hill. The property dates back to the mid 1750’s as it was a doctor’s house. The original house under the siding are huge logs brought up from Irish Corner where my dad was born. The logs were from an old fort. The logs can be seen on the inside of the house. They are not your normal sized logs these logs are huge about 3 times the size of what you would normally see today. The chimney is made from hand made bricks by slaves and held together with sand. Yes, sand. If you look under the weeds across the road there is a horse trough that was used by people who were traveling. My aunt and uncle would offer them meals in exchange for work in the blacksmith shop or while they got their horses shod. As my great uncle was the only blacksmith in miles. The back part of the house – a kitchen and bathroom were added in the 70’s. My great uncle was the town blacksmith and the shop stood until around 1980ish. There were hand made tools and such in the shop that he had made. The soil is very rich and grows amazing veggies. Every spring my mom would plant a garden and then can for the winter. I never had a store bought veggie or bread until 10th grade. My dad had a stroke and it was just easier than cooking everyday for my mom. My mom attended Union High School and graduated with the highest honor in the state the Golden Horseshoe Award and even won the Archway Cookie bakeoff at the WV State Fair which takes place in Fairlea – 30 minutes as the crow flies. The Bob and Bob was a true country store run by Mark Whiley. The house to the right is where he grew up. His son and I were really good friends growing up. He always had penny candy to choose from in jars on the counter. And as true to fashion there were always old men sitting with their pipes or chewing tobacca’ in rocking chairs at the front of the store. They would play checkers in the winter by the potbelly stove and usually Mark would have pimento cheese sandwiches for them. We used to lovingly call Bob “Caveman” he was extremely nice and willing to talk about cave exploring to anyone who would listen. He bought several antiques from my parents. The one picture you took where the road forks is where they cut through my mom’s property back in the 30’s I believe to put a paved road through to Alderson and Fort Spring so the gravel trucks could travel faster. The small triangle to the right of the road belongs to us also that is the tiny bit they left. The road to the left of the split is the original dirt road and leads to the church on the hill. I have so many memories of swinging on that swing you see in the photo. I still go straight to it first thing when I get there. There is someone who lives there and takes care of the mowing. Although as we get older we realize that we may need to sell it soon. I am interested in selling my parcel. Sinks Grove is your really small town that died a long time ago. There used to be a gas station as you drove into the town my uncle owned and there was a restaurant also next to the station with the best home cooking you ever had. Nel owned the place and came to find out years later that she was working with the FBI. Yep, in that tiny little town. There was a commune of people who were growing pot and distributing it. I waitressed for Nel when I was in jr/high school. The people were very nice to me. But as a kid I didn’t really know much anyway of what was going on. The place closed – Nel passed away as did most of the people there. The station closed as a new and cheaper one opened in Pickaway. My uncle and his wife passed and now there is nothing but gravel and weeds where these two icons of Sinks Grove stood. The people I know growing up are sadly in their 80’s and 90’s. I can remember when I was young thinking how country it was there. Once someone with a plate from New York stopped to get gas. One of the old men said “where in the tar is New York?” I was like what? My mom hushed me – he had never been more than 25 miles out of Sinks Grove and had a 3rd grade education. He was a born a farmer and died a farmer – his name was Bob I never knew his last name. I could tell you story after story. I am the last of my line of the Neels. My parents were only children and the uncle I mentioned was a distant cousin. I named my son after my dad to try and keep our name alive. But my parents had 5 girls and no boys. So the legacy will end with me. I often think there will be no one to put flowers on my parents grave or remember the young girl who was abandoned by her parents to grow-up raised by her aunt and uncle in Sinks Grove. The once thriving community of long ago. Where candy cost a penny, old men rocked and talked about when they were young, women hung clothes on the line and made fresh fruit pies, where kids didn’t have a care and found things to do without the internet, even if it was just watching clouds float by in their animal shapes and billions of stars in the night sky would shine as you chased fireflies. And even sometimes as you ran through the cow pasture stepping in a cow pie was just part of the fun. That old swing if it could talk would tell you stories of the people of Sinks Grove it’s been there since around 1940. The screen door is still the same and the little screech owl and his family have returned for years to nest in a hole on the front porch. I hope this mini novel hasn’t bored you – thank you so much for bringing back memories and letting me share them here. My mom actually wrote an article about growing up in Sinks Grove and was published in a book of history. She loved her home and often wished she could have spent her last days there. Thank you again.
What an interesting story! I wish people would share more of the stories like this of the places they grew up . It was a whole other place & time, one we’ll never know again. You didn’t have to fear strangers, you invited them in to share a meal with your family, you didn’t think about locking your doors at night nor even in daylight when you were away. People had pride & honesty & respect for other peoples’ property. Neighbors watched after neighbors. Thank you for sharing.
Crystal , I need to message you. What is your e-mail address or your cover photo for your Facebook account . ? Are you on Messenger?
Loved this account!!!
Thanks, Crystal for the wonderful history that brings the community back to life. Do you know the name of the name of the book with your mom’s history of growing up in Sinks Grove? I would like to try to find a copy.
Absolutely love your photos of Sinks Grove. Bob & Bobs store was actually owned by my parents, Roy & Edna Burwelll. Mom & Dad purchased the property in 1959/60 and ran the store until its closure in 1974. In the rear of the store was our house.
There was not a specific closing time for the store. Dad would lock the store after all the “lofers” would go home for the night. Many times a customer would come and knock on the house door needing something out of the store (even on Sundays).
As you turn on “Hokes Mill” Road you will find the old two room school house where many students attended from 1950-1963. I attended this school from grades 1-4. My husband & I acquired this building in 2016 and have remodeled and are now making this our home.
The house beside the store was owned by my grandparents, Mark and Lois Wiley.
I could go on & on about our small community of Sinks Grove, the land that I love. Hopefully you return to Sinks Grove again soon!
Thanks, Shirley. I’m learning a lot about the community. I’m glad I decided to stop and snap a few pictures. And, yes, I’ll be back when clouds and lighting are right for photography!
Bob lived in the house across the street for many years. He would set up trains in his front room at Christmas time and invite the local cavers over. Emily camped at the Bill Libman house many times while helping map a very large cave down the road.
I love your photos! This is my hometown! I was born and raised here on our ancestral land and in home my great grandfather, Thomas Nickell, built in 1845. My sister sold it to Tim Hoke in 2013. So many memories here! Went to the general stores. Mother and uncle attended Rocky Point Academy. My mother taught school in a 2 room school on the Orchard Rd. . I attended Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church. My ancestors were some of the earliest settlers. Oh my! A trip down memory lane! Thank you for the photos!
PS: I also inherited and retain 121 acre farm adjacent to main homestead. The last of my great grandfather’s land holdings! 😢
Thanks. Glad you are enjoying the photos. Always great to hear from someone with more than a passing interest.
Thanks for posting. This brings back many memories. Bob Liebman was a good man and I hated the news when I heard that he had passed away. I worked for Bob for many years during the late 80’s to mid 1990’s
After my Mother passed away, I spent a lot of my childhood in Sinks Grove as I lived part time with my Grandparents, Carl and Edith Ellis and my Aunt Thelma ( a widow who lost her young husband in WWII). Their home was two houses left of what is now referred to as Bob and Bob’s. They rented the house for $15.00 a month for many years. I attended first grade at the 2-room school nearby (Ms Bennett was the teacher as I remember) and I took piano lessons from Ms Alice Scott who lived right behind my Grandparents, next to the school building. Her brother, Bill Scott, owned the general store next to the post office. Shirley Burwell Reed provided a lot of information about her family; however, I would like to add that prior to her parents buying the store (now known as Bob & Bobs), it was owned by the Grimmett family who lived on the premises. They had one daughter ( I believe her name was Betty perhaps) and she was close to my age. I used to spend a lot of time at Ms. Reed’s grandparents, Mark and Lois Wiley’s in the house with the big wrap around porch. They had 8 children and the younger ones were my friends, especially Rhonda who was close to my age. I felt like I was part of that big family as they always welcomed me in their home to share their lifestyle. That is where I learned to “pluck” a chicken and other fun things – LOL. They were one of the first families in the area to have a television set in their home and I would spend my Saturday nights with them enjoying the old sitcoms. I attended Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church on the hill for many years. My Grandmother used to work at the restaurant owned by Nellie before I was born. It was more of a “bar” back then, I believe. She made .05 per hour. I have loved reading all the comments you have received about Sinks Grove. I knew so many folks who lived there but most of the names now escape me. There was a beautiful two-story home next to Mr and Mrs Bill Scott’s home (across from my Grandparents). I have not seen it in any of the pictures and I cannot remember who owned it – an elderly lady as I remember. It was very nice and more upscale than many of the other houses around the area. I believe the yellow house described by Crystal Knight may have been next to my grandparents. If I am correct, she was one of the Telford family’s children, who visited every summer. Her Mother, Maybell and my Aunt Thelma were extremely good friends. Anyway, her information about the house was very interesting. Sorry this is so disjointed but memories keeping popping into my head as I am writing this. I am so glad to have found this source of information about Sinks Grove. I have such fond memories of living there where there were so many kind people – it was most certainly a time of innocence and beautiful friendships.
Thanks, Carol. Lots of wonderful memories that help make a place special!