In the 1840s, William Peyton and others began mining cannel coal along the Coal and Little Coal rivers . Cannel coal was used to make oil for lighting. To ship the coal, they built locks and dams to make the Coal River easier to travel. The project was completed by 1859, and by 1860, they were shipping large amounts of coal. But a major flood in 1861 damaged the system, and no repairs were made during the Civil War. After the war, repairs were made, but the rise of petroleum and kerosene reduced demand for coal oil. By 1882, the river locks and dams were no longer used.