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Since the 1930s, West Virginia University has collected historical artifacts and archival materials from the mining and petroleum industries. The collecting began within the University’s School of Mines, which was later named the College of Mineral and Energy Resources (COMER). A museum, known as the COMER Museum, was formally organized in the mid-1980s, and the construction of a dedicated museum space was approved. At that time, the COMER Museum established its mission of “preserving and promoting the social, cultural and technological history of the coal, oil and natural gas industries of West Virginia through the collection, preservation, research and exhibition of historical objects and archival materials.”The West Virginia Coal Mining Institute endowed the COMER Museum with a substantial pledge in 2005. As part of the endowment agreement, the Institute was given the opportunity to rename the Museum. The Institute requested that the Museum be renamed The Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum in honor of “two individuals who have tirelessly supported its mission through both financial support and other resources.”Royce J. Watts, a WVU faculty member for over sixty years, and his wife, Caroline B. Watts, are long time supporters of the Museum and the state of West Virginia’s mining heritage. Royce and Caroline Watts spearheaded the establishment of the COMER Museum and made significant contributions towards its growth and development. The Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum reflects, supports and preserves Royce and Caroline Watts’ dedication to West Virginia’s mining industries and their devotion to West Virginia <a href="https://wattsmuseum.wvu.edu/about" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">University.</a>

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West Virginia University’s collection of historical artifacts and archival materials from the mining and petroleum industries of West Virginia.

Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum

This coal history tour starts in the western side of the Fairmont Coal Field and works its way north and east before turning south to complete a half-circle. The tour consists of monuments, museums, memorials, and other sites related to the history of mining and life in the minefields in the six counties in Northern West Virginia that constitute the Fairmont Coal Field: Barbour, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, and Taylor Counties.

Coal Heritage Sites in the Fairmont Coal Fields of Northern West Virginia

At 10:57 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, 1963 an explosion at Clinchfield Coal Company's Compass No. 2 Mine in Dola, West Virginia took the lives of 22 miners. All the men were married and left behind combined of 59 children behind. Although mining in nature is a very dangerous job, we need to work hard to raise the safety standards for miners. Through the efforts of family members and friends a memorial has been constructed to honor them. On September 3, 2006 this memorial was dedicated on the site of the explosion. Officials of the Clinchfield Coal Co. <a href="https://usminedisasters.miningquiz.com/saxsewell/compass_news_only.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(242, 242, 242)">identified the men</a> killed by an explosion deep in the No. 2 mine here.  They and their dependents were:<ul><li>Adam Aldridge, 53, Smithfield, wife, two children</li><li>Gunther Bardarrek, 33, Clarksburg, wife, three children</li><li>William Bullough, 34, Clarksburg, wife</li><li>Kenneth Burnside, 35, Salem, wife, one child</li><li>Ralph Cabo, 46, Clarksburg, wife, two children</li><li>Delbert Chapman, 38, Clarksburg, wife, one child</li><li>Carsie Crayton, 47, Shinnston, wife</li><li>Dorsey Fincham, 56, Clarksburg, wife, four children</li><li>William Fowler, 40, of Flemington, wife, four children</li><li>George Grogg, 49, Lumberport, wife, two children</li><li>Roy R. Hanna, 51, Brown, wife, three children</li><li>Glenn Haught, 35, Lumberport, wife, two children</li><li>Harold Haught, 45, Lumberport, wife</li><li>Denzel Hawkenberry, 47, Mt. Clare, wife, two children</li><li>Roy Kerns, 45, Lumberport, wife</li><li>James Lester, 50, Owings, (foreman), wife, two children</li><li>Jim Maxwell, 55, Galloway, wife, two children</li><li>Ralph McCloy, 46, Rosemont, wife, two children</li><li>John Reed, 40, Wilsonburg, wife, four children</li><li>Ralph Smith, 59, Center Point, wife, one child</li><li>Raymond Swiger, 50, Wallace, wife, two children</li><li>Robert Welch, 47, Flemington, wife</li><li> </li></ul>The two Haughts were brothers and Chapman was the brother of mine superintendent Harry Chapman. For more information contact: info@dolaminememorial.com  Level paved parking lot provides handicapped accessibility. Free Admission. Hours: 8AM-Dusk Directions: From I 79 take exit 119, take US 50 West to the exit that says, West Pike St., US Rt. 19 North. Get on US19 North and go to Rt. 18 toward Lumberport. Then in Lumberport take WV 20 North approximately 5 miles and the Dola Memorial should be on the left side of the <a href="https://wvtourism.com/company/dola-mine-memorial/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">road.</a>

The memorial honors the 22 coal miners killed in an explosion at the Compass No.2 Mine on April 25, 1963.  

Dola Mine Memorial

There is a coal mining exhibit at Manchin Clinic, which ties into coal mining heritage of West Virginia.

The display shows local coal mining artifacts at the medical clinic in Farmington, Marion County, West Virginia. 

Manchin Clinic display

On December 6th, at 10:20 in the morning, there occurred at Monongah, six miles from Fairmont, the worst catastrophe in The history of coal mining in West Virginia or in any other section of the world. It was an explosion in mines Nos. 6 and 8 of the Fairmont Coal Company, which completely wrecked the mines and snuffed out the lives of almost four hundred men. The worst of the explosion occurred in the No. 8 mine and so great was its force that the concrete roof of the engine house was torn into fragments and one piece, weighing more than 100 pounds, was blown more than 500 yards. The victims came to their deaths suddenly. Many were found sitting upright in the positions they were in when the explosion came with its spread of deadly gases. The scenes at the mines during the work of rescue were pitiful in the extreme. For several days frantic women grouped about the opening of the mines and their shrieks of agony were enough to move the hardest heart to pity. Grief-stricken mothers, wives, sweethearts and sisters waited and watched and wept. Some prayed, some sung, and some, in their very ecstasy of sorrow, became hysterical and<a href="http://www.wvculture.org/history/disasters/monongah03.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255)"> laughed.</a>﻿

The life size statue of a widowed mother and children in honor of the 361 miners killed in the Monongah Mines disaster on Dec. 6, 1907. The Monongah Mining Disaster of 1907 is the worst industrial disaster in U.S. History. The working memorial bell was donated by the Italian government. 

The Monongah Heroine Statue makes up part of the memorial to the victims of the Monongah Mine Disaster at the corner of Main Avenue and Bridge Street in downtown Monongah, West Virginia.


Monongah Heroine Statue

Mining is a dangerous profession overall, but <a href="David., Corbin (1981). Life, work, and rebellion in the coal fields : the southern West Virginia miners, 1880-1922. Urbana: University of Illinois Press." rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">between 1890 and 1912</a>, West Virginia mines had the highest miner death rates in the country. During World War I, West Virginia miners faced higher death rates than even soldiers in the American Expeditionary Force fighting in Europe. <a href="http://www.wvculture.org/history/archives/minewars.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Many West Virginians</a> soon became part of an economic system controlled by the coal industry. Miners worked in company mines with company tools and equipment, which they were required to lease. The rent for company housing and cost of items from the company store were deducted from their pay. The stores themselves charged over-inflated prices, since there was no alternative for purchasing goods. To ensure that miners spent their wages at the store, coal companies developed their own monetary system. Miners were paid by scrip, in the form of tokens, currency, or credit, which could be used only at the company store. Therefore, even when wages were increased, coal companies simply increased prices at the company store to balance what they lost in pay. Miners were also denied their proper pay through a system known as cribbing. Workers were paid based on tons of coal mined. Each car brought from the mines supposedly held a specific amount of coal, such as 2,000 pounds. However, cars were altered to hold more coal than the specified amount, so miners would be paid for 2,000 pounds when they actually had brought in 2,500. In addition, workers were docked pay for slate and rock mixed in with the coal. Since docking was a judgment on the part of the checkweighman, miners were frequently cheated. In addition to the poor economic conditions, safety in the mines was of great concern. West Virginia fell far behind other major coal-producing states in regulating mining conditions. Between 1890 and 1912, West Virginia had a higher mine death rate than any other state. West Virginia was the site of numerous deadly coal mining accidents, including the nation's worst coal disaster. On December 6, 1907, an explosion at a mine owned by the Fairmont Coal Company in Monongah, Marion County, killed 361. One historian has suggested that during World War I, a U.S. soldier had a better statistical chance of surviving in battle than did a West Virginian working in the coal mines. In response to poor conditions and low wages in the late 1800s, workers in most industries developed unions. Strikes generally focused on a specific problem, lasted short periods of time, and were confined to small areas.  The Mary Lou Retton Youth Park, located in Fairmont, WV off of Mary Lou Retton Drive and Old Monongah Road, is named after the 1984 Olympic gold medalist from Marion County. Included in its rolling 25-acre area are a wealth of facilities, such as five baseball fields, one football field, basketball court, picnicking areas, playground and swings, restroom facility, pavilion, and the North Central West Virginia Miner's Memorial. The park is also home to the Fairmont Senior High School baseball team, Fairmont Little League, and the American Youth Football Association.

The life size statue of a coal miner to honor coal miners in each county who lost their lives in West Virginia.  Stone structures of each county surround the statue of a “coal miner who lost his life in the mine.”



Statue of a Coal Miner at Mary Lou Retton Youth Park

The Marion County Historical Society was founded in 1908 by Bernard Lee Butcher (1853-1918), who was the State Superintendent of Schools in 1880. He founded the Society because of his interest in genealogy. Butcher published his first major work, A Genealogical and Personal History of the Upper Monongahela Valley, in 1912.In 1986, the Marion County Commission donated the former county Sheriff's Residence, Circa 1912, to the Society to use as a museum. The new Marion County Historical Society and Museum opened its doors to the public on Labor Day, 1986. Different rooms throughout the historical home represent different eras or subjects in American history. Collections include artifacts related to Marion County and West Virginia history, including exhibits on the all of the Wars dating back to the Revolutionary War, Black History in Marion County, various exhibits depicting how rooms of the residence looked when they were in use and rotating exhibits of the history of the coal, glass and other industries in the state. One of the most popular attractions at the museum—especially for young schoolchildren—is the Sheriff’s office and jail which are part of the museum and guided tours. The Marion County Historical Society and Museum also works with nearby Prickett’s Fort State Park, which uses living history interpretation to exhibit and preserve our past.

The Marion County Historical Society, Inc. was founded in 1908. The Society is dedicated to preserving the local history of Fairmont, Marion County and North Central West Virginia. Today, Marion County Historical Society operates a local history museum that includes the former Sheriff's Residence and a portion of the old county jail.

Marion County Historical Society and Museum

The geographic focus is the "Fairmont Field" which includes the 6 counties of Barbour, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Preston and Taylor. NACMHA has, over its short life, established a museum, hosted with local communities a state traveling coal mining exhibit for 2 1/2 years and enlisted public sentiment to preserve this historical display. We have also loaned artifacts and library materials to speakers, researched and developed a listing of coal mine fatalities and supported other local groups in efforts to build miners' memorials commemorating coal mine disasters. We display a regional road map at our museum showing regional coal mining heritage attractions in the area.

Founded in March 2000, The Northern Appalachian Coal Mining Heritage Association (NACMHA) is dedicated to educating the public on our regional coal mining heritage. NACMHA operates a seasonal interactive coal mining museum in Fairmont, West Virginia adjacent to Coal Country Miniature Golf course along Interstate 79.

Northern Appalachian Coal Mining Heritage Association

<a href="https://news.lib.wvu.edu/2018/04/30/everettville-mine-disaster-in-their-own-words/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">On April 30, 1927</a>, there was an explosion at the Federal No. 3 mine owned by New England Fuel and Transportation Company, in Everettville, Monongalia County, WV. One hundred and eleven people were lost, and nine were saved. Below are the newspaper headlines for the following week–the disaster happened at around 3:30 PM so it didn’t make the evening edition of the Morgantown Post on April 30–the results of the Great Mississippi Flood took up a lot of front page space that day. The Everettville mine disaster was reported in a number of local newspapers and even made national news.  <a href="http://www.wveha.org/history/Disaster" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The spark and flames</a> alerted the nearby miners and foreman who tried to run but were overcome by the expanding fire ball. Approximately 4000 feet of methane gas and air mixture provided the initial fuel for the explosion. The mine had not been covered in rock dust in accordance with the mine-inspector’s direction in the month prior, so the explosion of gas found a new propellant in the coal dust covering nearly every surface of the mine. The explosion moved outward from the room, hurling mine cars down the passageways destroying men and machinery alike. The force of the explosion was strong enough to bend and disfigure the massive metal experimental loading machines. The “toppings,” or the foot of coal sitting above the lip of loaded mine cars, was sent flying through the shafts as lethal projectiles, accompanied by electric water pumps torn from their mounts and sent tumbling. The violence of the explosion sent debris from the mouth of the mine into the tipple and out to a distance of over 600 feet. At least eighty-six men died immediately within the mine, and another six died when the explosion ripped apart the tipple. In the minutes following the explosion, several groups of men found themselves trapped within the mine. A few barricaded themselves in a pump room in an attempt to protect themselves from fires started by the explosion, but they died from exposure to the “afterdamp.” Some of the trapped miners left messages written to their loved ones on whatever they could get their hands on, including a lunch pail and scraps of cement-bag paper. While several miners were able to walk out of the mine themselves, rescue operations were mounted immediately.

The memorial honors the 97 miners killed on April 30th, 1927.  The Federal No.3 Miners Memorial proudly displays the names of the 149 miners who bravely perished in the mine, including those who died in the fateful mine explosion in 1927. Both faces of the memorial lists the names of the miners and the year of their death. The Miner's Logo also displays above the memorial on both faces. The memorial now stands proudly near Federal No. 3, next to the Friendship Baptist Church in Everettville.  

Everettville Miners Memorial

At 3:20 p.m. on Saturday April 30, 1927, a powerful explosion occurred at Federal No. 3 mine in Everettville, Monongalia County, West Virginia. The coal mine was owned by New England Fuel and Transportation Company. At the time of the explosion, about one hundred miners were underground. Eighty-six of them were killed instantly, while two initially survived the blast and managed to walk 500 feet before being overcome by the afterdamp, the toxic mixture of gases that lingers in a coal mine after an ignition of firedamp. Three miners barricaded themselves in a pump room and survived for three or more hours before being overcome by the afterdamp. Aware of their fates, the trapped men scribbled notes to their loved ones, which were later recovered by rescue teams alongside their bodies. One of those men was Scottish immigrant Henry Russell, who wrote a short message to his wife on a piece of cement bag paper. The force of the explosion also sent debris and flames out of the mine, causing the tipple (a large structure where extracted product was temporarily stored and then loaded for transportation) to collapse. The structure’s failure claimed the lives of six workers and injured several others. Nine miners who were working in a different section of the mine, far from the site of the explosion, barricaded themselves in a room. One managed to find his way out of the mine and return with others wearing self-rescuers (portable emergency oxygen devices) to save the lives of his eight co-workers.  News of the tragedy spread quickly. Families of the miners quickly raced to the site, hoping to hear good news concerning the fate of their loved ones. Additionally, thousands of spectators converged on the scene. Soon after, state police arrived and cordoned off area. Rescue teams quickly assembled to search for survivors. The still raging fire, coupled with the fear of another larger explosion caused by the afterdamp, however, severely impeded rescue efforts. Weeks passed before rescue crews could recover all of the miners’ bodies.  In the wake of the tragedy, the West Virginia Department of Mines conducted an investigation into the cause of the explosion. It concluded that a spark from a storage battery locomotive (an electric vehicle used to haul coal to the surface) operating at the farthest working face from the entrance ignited built-up methane (or firedamp) and coal dust in the mine, causing the devastating and deadly explosion. The agency claimed that rock dusting (the application of pulverized limestone to the inside walls of a coal mine) could have significantly reduced the magnitude of the explosion. Despite the insistence of safety officials to properly rock dust the mine, mine executives at Everettville refused to do so, believing that it was simply too wet for coal dust to propagate a methane ignition.   In 2014, the West Virginia Highway Historical Marker Program of the West Virginia Archives and History installed a marker to commemorate the Everettville mine explosion. Sponsored by the Everettville Historical Association, the marker stands at the intersection of U.S. 19 and County Route 45 (River Road), south of Arnettsville in Monongalia County.

On April 30, 1927, a powerful explosion occurred at Federal No. 3 mine in Everettville, Monongalia County, West Virginia. At least ninety-seven miners lost their lives. In the wake of the tragedy, the West Virginia Department of Mines conducted an investigation into the cause of the explosion. It concluded that a spark from a storage battery locomotive ignited built-up methane and coal dust in the mine, causing the deadly explosion. The agency claimed that rock dusting could have significantly reduced the magnitude of the explosion. Mine executives at Everettville, however, refused to do so prior to the tragedy, believing that the mine was too wet for coal dust to propagate a methane ignition. 

Everett Mine Disaster Highway Historical Marker 

Coke is coal from which the volatile matter the tar, oils, and gas has been burned out, leaving mainly fixed carbon and the coke-making process is designed to drive off the volatile matter from the coal without letting combustion go far enough to burn the carbon. The origins of this process predate by many years the establishment of the Elkins Coal and Coke Company at Bretz early in the 20th century. Since the dawning of the iron age, man has needed sources of nearly pure carbon which, when properly heated, would take the oxygen out of iron ore and convert it into metal. For centuries charcoal served this purpose well, but by the early years of the 18th century, a shortage of wood for charcoal making in most industrial countries had inspired a search for a suitable substitute. Most of the Bretz ovens date back to the complex's <a href="http://www.coalcampusa.com/nowv/fairmont/bretz/bretz.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">heyday</a> between 1906 and 1919. They rest on raised earth platforms or wharfs. Their retaining walls are constructed entirely of hand-cut stone except at their round arched door openings where the intense heat and the need to quench the coke with water requires fire brick. The ovens, which have a diameter of approximately 12 feet and are 7 feet high, are constructed entirely of fire brick set in clay mortar. The dome shape of the top serves not only to make the structure more rigid but focuses heat more directly on <a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/83003249_text" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the burning coal.</a> In the <a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/83003249_text" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">late 19th and early 20th centuries</a>, the widespread adoption of cheap and plentiful coke made possible the expansion of the Nation's iron and steel industry into the world's largest. To feed the country's hungry blast furnaces numerous coke plants, like the one operating today at Bretz, were established wherever a suitable supply of high quality coal lay near a railroad line that could transport the product to market. The Bretz facility owes its origins largely to the entrepreneurial activities of Stephen B. Elkins, who had begun to acquire large coal tracts in the area in the 1890 f s and who in 1902 purchased the uncompleted Morgantown &amp; Kingwood Railroad to fully exploit them. In 1906 his Elkins Coal and Coke Company acquired the town of Bretz and an adjacent coal mine from the West Virginia Coal Company and began to construct a bank of 400 coke ovens. Elkins 1 Bretz plant went into full production in 1907, shortly after the Morgantown &amp; Kingwood Railroad was completed to a point on the B &amp; 0. This new route gave the Elkins Coal and Coke Company an eastward connection to its chief customer the huge steel plant and shipyard of the Maryland Steel Company at Sparrows' Point, and between 1907 and 1918 huge quantities of coke were shipped from Bretz to this facility. In 1919 Charles M. Schwab's Bethlehem Steel Corporation purchased the Sparrows' Point Complex and 4 years later acquired the Elkins properties as well. Like most of the coking plants constructed in 19th-and-early20th-century America, the Elkins operation at Bretz utilized the beehive oven to produce coke. In fact, from 1871 to 1919 about 88 per cent of all iron produced in the United States was made with beehive coke as a fuel. After World War I, however, the beehives were quickly displaced by more efficient by-product ovens which could recover gas and other valuable compounds. As a result, most beehive operations like the Elkins Plant were either shut down permanently or operated only during periods of peak steel production. <a href="http://www.coalcampusa.com/nowv/fairmont/bretz/bretz.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Bretz ovens were probably </a>the last beehive coke works in America to close down, in 1980. (A rectangular style coke works, similar to beehive ovens, operated in Alverton, PA until 1983.) The coke works was put into operation in 1906. Different operators owned the Bretz coke works over the years. A coal mine and coal camp were built there by West Virginia Coal Company before 1906. In 1906 Elkins Coal &amp; Coke Co. acquired the mine and town, and began constructing the coke works. In 1918 Bethlehem Steel took over the Bretz town/mine/ovens, but only ran Bretz for three years. Later operators included Joseph Miller and Gibralter Fuel Co. In 1953 Mercury Coal and Coke Co. purchased the operations, which may have been idle at the time, from a bankruptcy sale. They revamped the coke works, but may not have reopened the mine, and operated it until 1980. After its closure, the site remained one of the most intact examples of a beehive coke yard. Despite it's listing on the National Register of Historic Places, much of the site has been reclaimed and many of the structures demolished, leaving Shoaf, Pa., 45 minutes to the north, as the finest extant coke works in the nation (although it has really deteriorated). This proves that a listing of a site on the Register is no guarantee that it will be preserved.

It is the oldest beehive coke oven in the state of West Virginia, and the longest operational beehive oven in the nation. These 140 ovens are the last survivors of some 400 Elkins Coal and Coke ovens erected here early in the 20th century. They are built into the hillside directly below the dirt road leading into the complex, face southwestward toward the tracks of the B & 0 Railroad, and are divided into two batteries arranged in continuous single rows. 

Bretz Coke Ovens

Prior to West Virginia’s statehood in 1863, very little coal mining took place in the area of Monongalia County. The first substantial mining operations began in Beechwood in 1886 after the opening of the railroad between Morgantown and Fairmont, but it was not until the outbreak of the First World War that the demand for coal was sufficient to merit the industry’s expansion. West Virginia University geologist Dr. Israel White identified Monongalia County as an ideal location for coal mines using his anticlinal theory, which posited that the oldest and most resource rich layers of earth could be located at the crest of arch-like folds known as anticlines. White convinced ex-Governor and receiver of the Morgantown and Wheeling Railroad William Glasscock that the Scott’s Run area through which his failing rail line ran was rife with coal deposits that could give his tracks new purpose. As a result, dozens of mines and accompanying tipples (structures where coal was loaded onto trains) popped up in the Scott’s Run area to not only save the Morgantown and Wheeling Railroad from bankruptcy but to service the American military machine as it ground into action in the first year of US participation in World War I (1917). In 1899, Monongalia County produced 57,000 tons of coal; by 1921, it was producing 4.4 million. The dramatic increase in coal mining activity at Scott’s Run attracted workers from across West Virginia, the United States, and Europe. Sixty percent of the population that settled around the mines in the area were foreign-born hailing primarily from Eastern and Southern Europe. Another twenty percent were African American, making Scott’s Run a uniquely diverse community in the Appalachian region. Although the community’s residents brought a wide array of outside cultures to West Virginia in the early twentieth century, however, historians have characterized their communities as “stranded” by the lack of alternative employment opportunities, language barriers, and racism.<a href="#_ftn1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> As a result workers at the Scott’s Run mines were hit particularly hard by the Great Depression, becoming a symbol for the plight of American coal miners during the period after First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visited the area in 1933. Photographers and journalists documented living conditions in the Scott’s Run settlements extensively during this period prompting considerable outrage nationwide, with one writer for the Atlantic Monthly describing the area as the “damndest cesspool of human misery I have ever seen in America.”<a href="#_ftn2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[2]</a> This upswell of opinion translated into increased support for local charity efforts and the First Lady’s establishment of Arthurdale in nearby Preston County, a development intended to provide more adequate housing and community facilities for the workers of Scott’s Run and other area mines. Life for Scott’s Run’s workers was complicated further by the outbreak of World War II, a period that saw a considerable uptick in demand for coal in response to increased military activities and the mechanization of mining operations. Although mechanization offered safer working conditions for miners in some respects as machines took over some of the more hazardous aspects of coal extraction, it also produced a myriad of new dangers from the increase in coal dust and flammable gas. New coal mining machinery produced clouds of dust that were largely absent in the era of coal mining, dust that filled miners’ lungs and obscured their vision. Noise from the machinery also prevented miners from hearing the telltale sounds of oncoming shaft collapses, further increasing the danger. Perhaps most hazardous of all, however, was the methane gas the new machines produced, which when trapped or combined with coal dust could result in powerful and fatal explosions. Whereas before mechanization the Scott’s Run mines had not experienced a level of fatalities that could qualify as a disaster (over five casualties), afterwards it experienced three in the span of nine months. The first, at the Osage mine on May 12, 1942, resulted in 56 deaths. The second, at Pursglove on July 9 of the same year, killed twenty men. The last, again at Pursglove on January 8, 1943, added another eleven workers to the total. These disasters prompted formal investigations but little else, nothing being done to improve safety conditions in the mines or regulate the industry. The Scott’s Run mines continued with business as usual until further mechanization, the shift to diesel in many industries that once relied on coal for fuel, and the arrival of I-79 to the Scott’s Run area prompted their closure in the second half of the twentieth century. Since then, area residents have worked strenuously to preserve the history of the mines and the communities of miners that they produced. The Scott’s Run Museum is in part a result of those efforts as is the Scott’s Run Trail, a heritage tour of the area that leads visitors to geocached sites related to the history of the mines and their workers. Combined, the Museum and Trail offer a unique window into Scott’s Run’s past and the larger story of West Virginia’s miners and their experiences over the course of the twentieth century. Anyone interested in that history may visit the trail at any time and the museum during its operating hours on Saturdays. <a href="#_ftnref1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[1]</a> Lewis, “Introduction,” 2.<a href="#_ftnref2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[2]</a> Lewis, “Introduction,” 2.

Located on Scott’s Run Road in Osage, West Virginia, the Scott’s Run Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of the coal mining settlements that dotted the landscape along the western side of the Monongahela River in the early twentieth century. The museum began as a one-day operation on November 1, 1996 before becoming a permanent institution the following year. Although the museum was initially established as part of the work sponsored by the United Communities of Scott’s Run, Inc., it has had separate incorporation since December of 1997. The Scott’s Run coal mining communities are among the most famous in the history of West Virginia and Appalachia and received considerable attention for the suffering experienced by area miners during the Great Depression, suffering that motivated First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to take a particular interest in improving conditions in the area. The Scott’s Run Museum commemorates that history today and is open to the public on Saturday’s from 10 AM to 2 PM and for personal tours upon appointment.

Scott's Run Museum

Since the 1930s, West Virginia University has collected historical artifacts and archival materials from the mining and petroleum industries. The collecting began within the University’s School of Mines, which was later named the College of Mineral and Energy Resources (COMER). A museum, known as the COMER Museum, was formally organized in the mid-1980s, and the construction of a dedicated museum space was approved. At that time, the COMER Museum established its mission of “preserving and promoting the social, cultural and technological history of the coal, oil and natural gas industries of West Virginia through the collection, preservation, research and exhibition of historical objects and archival materials.” The West Virginia Coal Mining Institute endowed the COMER Museum with a substantial pledge in 2005. As part of the endowment agreement, the Institute was given the opportunity to rename the Museum. The Institute requested that the Museum be renamed The Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum in honor of “two individuals who have tirelessly supported its mission through both financial support and other resources.” Royce J. Watts, a WVU faculty member for over sixty years, and his wife, Caroline B. Watts, are long time supporters of the Museum and the state of West Virginia’s mining heritage. Royce and Caroline Watts spearheaded the establishment of the COMER Museum and made significant contributions towards its growth and development. The Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum reflects, supports and preserves Royce and Caroline Watts’ dedication to West Virginia’s mining industries and their devotion to West Virginia <a href="https://wattsmuseum.wvu.edu/about" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">University.</a>

Prior to the construction of Arthurdale, the land upon which it was built had connections to a number of prominent figures from local, state, and national history, most notably its prior owners John Fairfax, William Brown, and Richard Arthurdale. After Arthurdale defaulted on the land during the Great Depression he sold it to the federal government, which began plans to locate the first of its eventually 99 communities for American citizens in economically depressed areas around the country. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt took a particular interest in Arthurdale because she had previously visited the region, and went on to take an active role in the town's operation. In 1947, however, the government chose to sell Arthurdale's lots to private owners, and its buildings began to fall into disrepair. At the community's 50th anniversary celebrations, local residents formed Arthurdale Heritage Incorporated to preserve the structures at the site and the stories of those who lived in them. Arthurdale Heritage currently operates a museum and gift shop there, known as the Arthurdale Heritage Center, and also hosts a New Deal Festival celebrating the town's history every year.Athurdale's first European owner, Colonel John Scott Fairfax began building his new home there in 1817 after living in Preston County for over two decades. During that time, Fairfax had become one of the area's most prominent citizens, serving as a justice of the peace, militia colonel, and member of the House of Delegates. Fairfax Manor, which was the stone house Fairfax's slaves built for him in modern-day Arthurdale, passed to the colonel's daughter after his death in 1843, who in turn lived there until her death in 1882.After that, local attorney and agricultural enthusiast William G. Brown purchased the land. Brown went on to run for Congress in 1896 on the Populist Party ticket, but ultimately would not successfully win an election for the position until switching to the Democratic Party for the 1910 midterms. He then served as the area's Congressional representative in the 62nd, 63rd, and 64th Congresses, holding the office until his death in 1916. Shortly after Brown's victory in 1910 he made the decision to sell his farmland in Preston County to regional hotelier Richard M. Arthur, who continued to add to his holdings in the area throughout his occupancy of the site. Arthur, who is perhaps best known for operating the popular Hotel Arthur at the corner of 27th and Carson Streets in Pittsburgh from 1890 to 1893, constructed a 23-room mansion on his land shortly after purchasing it and added a large stock farm soon thereafter. The former hotel proprietor continued to live at the site until going into default on the land during the Great Depression and selling the land to the federal government.Shortly thereafter, the government began construction of the first of 99 planned communities nationwide that were part of a New Deal era initiative to provide jobs and adequate housing to the areas most impacted by the Depression. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had visited coal camps outside of nearby Morgantown, and seen firsthand the economic downturn's impact on those living in the area. Seizing the opportunity offered by the recent passage of the Homestead Subsistence Act in 1930, Eleanor suggested building the first community near the area she had visited to help families like those she had seen. Construction on the planned community at Arthurdale began in late 1933. The First Lady continued to be deeply involved in all aspects of the project and life in the community, from helping to design the homes to paying for the teachers. She visited the site many times over the course of its existence, even passing out diplomas at the town's high school graduations for the first 10 years. In 1938, she also convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt to give the commencement speech, making Arthurdale the site of the only speech delivered by a sitting U.S. president to a graduating high school class.Although Arthurdale seemed like a good plan on paper, it experienced a number of problems in execution, primarily as a result of its location and the political and financial changes of the era. The most impactful of these changes came as the Great Depression drew to a close and the Second World War brought factory jobs back to the region causing the need for such communities to decrease dramatically. As a result, the federal government eventually abandoned the project as it was no longer considered necessary. Because of the major improvements she witnessed in residents' lives Eleanor viewed Arthurdale largely as a success, as did the homesteaders who received employment and housing through the project.By 1984 the central buildings had fallen into disrepair and local people formed nonprofit Arthurdale Heritage Inc. (AHI) to save them and their homestead family stories. For years they fund-raised to buy one building, rehabilitate it (mainly by themselves), then start on another. Today AHI’s museum gives personal, story-filled tours through 5 buildings plus continues to save oral histories and expand its collection of artifacts. It also has a volunteer run Craft Shop. Every July they hold the New Deal Festival plus many other smaller events through the year. With 160 of the 165 houses standing today, Arthurdale takes you on a trip through time in "Eleanor's Little Village."

Welcome to the first New Deal planned community of Arthurdale, West Virginia! Started in 1933 under the direct personal guidance of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Arthurdale was the first of 99 such towns that the federal government constructed throughout the Great Depression for economically distressed areas nationwide. Arthurdale was constructed specifically to provide economic relief to destitute coal miners and their families from Scotts Run, WV, a place that became the poster-child of poverty in the Great Depression due to its prominence in the national press. In total, 165 families were situated in houses in Arthurdale with 2-5 acres of farmland each, barns, tools, education, healthcare, and employment opportunities for all. This was a massive and expensive project, but ultimately left these families with more resources and opportunities than they had before. Arthurdale Heritage currently operates a five-building museum on the site. Come step back in time and get a sense of the New Deal, the Great Depression, subsistence farming, and family life in 1930s rural West Virginia.Please note that many places included on this tour are private residences. We ask that visitors be respectful of the homes as you drive by them.

Community Center

On Thursday, January 21, 1886, the first big mine shaft explosion occurred in the state of West Virginia, at the Mountain Brook Shaft Mine of the Newburg Orrel Coal Company. According to the Preston County Journal, it was around 2:45 p.m. when there was an explosion of gas accompanied by "a rumbling sound like low, rolling heavy thunder, followed by a slight shaking of the ground."1 The townspeople gathered to witness the horrific event; the process of recovering the 39 human bodies and four mules lasted an entire week. The first body to be identified was Isaiah Timmons, who was the pit and fire boss. His son, William (age 14), who was the door keeper in the shaft, was also killed. Many family members worked together in the mine. The cause of the disaster was ruled as neglect of orders and disobedience of the law.1 Although the actual site of the disaster is not accessible, a memorial, dedicated by the Rotary Club of Newburg in 1989, is located outside of the Newburg Post Office. It reads: <blockquote>   THIS MEMORIAL IS DEDICATED TO THE 39 MEN WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE GAS EXPLOSION OF THE MOUNTAIN BROOK SHAFT OF THE NEWBURG ORREL COAL CO., JAN. 21, 1886</blockquote><blockquote>   THE SHAFT WAS LOCATED IN THE WEST END OF NEWBURG ALONG THE B.&amp;O. RAILROAD TRACKS. IT WAS BEGUN IN JAN. 1882, AND REACHED A DEPTH OF 335 FT. THE MINE WAS THE DEEPEST OF THE 6 COAL SHAFTS IN THE STATE AT THAT TIME. THIS WAS THE FIRST BIG SHAFT MINE EXPLOSION IN W.VA.2</blockquote>The names of the men and boy who were killed are also listed - Clinton Albright, Nicholas Birtley, Richard Birtley, John Byer, Jr., John Carroll, Michael Clark, John Conoway, John Edwards, E. Fortney, Morgan Freeman, Harry Guy, Joseph Guy, Thomas Guy, Peter Hanley, John Hornsby, Joseph Johnson, Joseph Ross Kelly, Michael J. Kenny, Henry Lambert, John Lambert, Frank Laymire, William Laymire, James McGowan, Albert McWilliams, Daniel Miller, J. B. Miller, Frank Moon, Newton Moore, Arthur Ogden, George Riggins, Williams Sansbury, Andrew Scott, Wilbur G. Spencer, Isaiah Timmons, William Timmons, Charles Tunley, Jacob H. Weaver, John A. Weaver, Adolph Wein.2 Union Cemetery is located near the old Newburg School and is the final resting place for 21 out of the 39 miners.3 The other men, except for a few who were from out of town, were laid to rest in a nearby cemetery on Scotch Hill.4 History of Newburg Newburg, West Virginia, a town in Preston County, was incorporated in 1868. It was presumably named because it was the most recently established town on the Baltimore &amp; Ohio Railroad (B&amp;O). Newburg was formerly known as "Stop 88" as it was located 88 miles west of the B&amp;O station at Cumberland, Maryland. 5

The Newburg Mine Disaster Memorial honors the 39 men and boys were killed in the gas explosion at the Mountain Brook Shaft of the Newburg Orrel Coal Company in 1886. The Newburg Mine Disaster was the first big shaft mine explosion in the state of West Virginia. The bronze plaque was dedicated by the Newburg Rotary Club in 1989, and is located in front of the Newburg Post Office. 

Newburg Mine Disaster Memorial

In the late 1800s, Barbour County and Taylor County leaders worked together and raised funds to build a railroad that would run from Philippi to Grafton, West Virginia. the two counties were able to contribute about $60,000 each as residents purchased shares in the railroad. Regular passenger service began on January 21, 1884, and the current depot was constructed in 1911. The depot was abandoned in 1956 as passenger service ended. In 1979, the Barbour County Historical Society raised over $100,000 to restore the station. After their successful fundraiser, the current museum opened on June 3, 1985.

This local history museum is located inside the former Philippi railroad station that was constructed in 1911 and connected this community to the Baltimore an Ohio rail line. The Barbour County Historical Museum includes a variety of exhibits from the colonial period to the present. These exhibits include Civil War era weapons, various railroad artifacts, and exhibits of clothing from the antebellum period as well as a large display of flags. The Hamrick Mummies are a highlight of the museum and were once one of the leading attractions of the traveling P.T. Barnum Circus. The Museum has many objects from the county’s abundant coal history.

Coal Heritage Sites in the Fairmont Coal Fields of Northern West Virginia

Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information