Sandlick

Sandlick is an unincorporated community located on Sandlick Creek at the junction of County Routes 71/5 and 71/13 about 4.8 miles north of Bluefield. It has no post office of its own so mail is addressed to Sandlick, Rock, West Virginia. Most of the businesses that might once have been in Sandlick have closed leaving it as just a small bedroom community of surrounding areas. Children are bused to Montcalm Elementary and Montcalm High School a short distance away.

Rock is an unincorporated community near Sandlick. It is located along West Virginia Route 71, 2 miles northeast of Montcalm. Rock was settled by Richard Bailey Jr. and several of his brothers in the late 1700s. Their father, Richard Bailey Sr. was one of the earliest settlers of what is now Bluefield, West Virginia. The Bluestone River, the N&W Railroad and the post office were the main forces behind the development of Rock.  The N&W and Virginian Railroad both carried passengers and freight, mainly coal, through Rock.

Near the banks of the Bluestone is a huge rock cliff formation. It was near the rock cliff where the first post office was built, giving the community the name “The Rock.’ The old post office was moved about 1892 closer to the railroad line to accommodate the delivery of mail by rail. Eventually “The” was dropped and the community became known as Rock.

At one time Rock had four general merchandise stores. The Rock Cliff Mineral Springs Bottling Plant was the largest employer. It was started by two Smith brothers. They bottled Rock Cliff sodas, pale-dry ginger ale and golden ginger ale.

There was a large two-story boarding house, a saloon, the N&W Railroad freight and passenger station, a wood products factory and a planing mill. There were two churches, Good Hope Baptist, built 1914-16, and the Rock United Methodist Church that was built in 1887.  ---Jim and Nancy Bailey, About Rock, rockwestvirginia.com

A small hospital was built in Rock in 1910. The hospital served Sandlick and the surrounding area. Some of its attending physicians had connections to Athens, including Dr. Dr. Elbert Vermillion (1875 – 1957), an ophthalmologist, who spent most of his career practicing in Welch, Rock and Athens. He returned to Athens in 1950 to continue his practice in semi-retirement while living in the old Vermillion home place. Another Rock hospital physician, was Dr. John H. Bird who attended the Concord Normal School. "In 1901 he entered the Maryland Medical College of Baltimore, graduating in 1905. He took special work in anatomy, surgery and obstetrics. Following his graduation he practiced at Athens, associated with Doctor Thornton for a time, but soon returned to Rock, where he enjoyed an ever increasing clientage...." ---The History of West Virginia, Old and New, submitted by Valerie Crook, wvarchives.net

In 2023 Rock remains a small community with the post office being the only employer. There are a few farms and a few homes remaining. Residents generally travel to Princeton and Bluefield for work, entertainment and shopping. In Sandlick, Bruce McDuffy opened the Blue Sky Orchard. It is on 72 acres and is open to the public seasonally for U-pick apples, peaches, and blackberries. Mr. McDuffy was looking for a buyer for the business in 2023.