WELCH -
A man walking down the street in downtown Welch says, unsoliticited, to a stranger, "This is a ghost town, man."
But a few miles away, about a half dozen people from North Carolina parked their ATVs outside a popular restaurant to eat a quick meal before getting back on some trails near town.
The first person was offering the kind of comment that Mayor Reba Honaker doesn't like to hear. The second group, she likes.
As in many other towns in West Virginia, and some neighborhoods in the state's larger cities, downtown Welch has its share of empty storefronts. A lot of traffic passes through the downtown during the day, including heavy truck traffic, but much of it passes through without stopping.
As with many other cities and towns in West Virginia, Welch is suffering from a long-term population loss. The 2010 census counted about 2,400 residents, down from about 2,700 in 2000 and 3,000 in 1990.
The downtown reflects the loss of population in the city and the losses in the overall McDowell County economy. Many storefronts are vacant, and many of those that aren't empty are occupied by government offices.
The downtown does have a relatively new three-screen movie theater.
In a recent interview, Honaker said good things are possible for Welch.
"We'd like to have some little shops to come in downtown, kind of like Lewisburg, but so far we haven't been successful in doing that," she said.
The new federal prison has been a help to the city's economy, but not as much as city officials had hoped, Honaker said.
"We've always been told that when the federal prison came, roads would come, but they haven't come yet," she said.
"We're hoping for more industry to come at the industrial park up near the prison," she said.
One large, well-known company is talking to the city about combining several offices and relocating them to a new building in the industrial park, Honaker said. A couple of other companies also are interested in space there, she said.
If the state finishes the Coalfield Expressway, Welch should see some growth at the interchange leading into town, Honaker said. So far, the roadway has been prepared, but the state does not have the money to pave it, she said.
One bright spot in the local economy is the money spent by people from Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and elsewhere when they come to town to ride ATV trails, Honaker said. Although the well-known Hatfield and McCoy Trails system does not have any trails at Welch, there are several unmarked trails near town that people use, she said.
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