History lesson from Lynch, KY

[pjflan7]

History

Please review this page to get a good feel for what happened in this little town. This place is 3 hours from home. I did a favor for a work friend and did some plumbing work for his family who lived near this ancient coal mining town. They have a closed mine there that has an interesting history. In short, During ww1, Congress requested that more steel be manufactured for munitions for the war effort....in order to do that, they needed coal. In 1917, US Steel came to this area in the Cumberland mountains near the Virginia border to set up a company owned coal town. These pictures show some of the area thereabout. Please review the "history" link...it is fairly short and quite informational and show some period photographs and scrips.

Michael and I climbed up to the top of the conveyor chute to the silo and shot this of the mine entrance.



similar shot but to the right......I will explain over the next couple of days what all these buildings are. note the little building in the middle spanning the creek



This is the building spanning the creek......echoes of segregation.....this was a period restaurant where whites ate on one side and african americans on the other side.



You can spot this building just to the right of the mine entrance in the 2nd photo. This was the lamphouse where all of the lamp-hats were given out each morning and taken back in each evening. Personnel spent the night cleaning and recharging these hats. They also prepared torches and other fuel based lighting for the foremen and firebosses....note you go in one door and out the other......It served 2000 men a day.



more to come ....stay tuned

[jakethepig]

A good start to what will be a great history lesson. As you know coal mining was a big part of our history here in England and is sadly no more apart from a few small mines due to the government/unions dispute in the 80's. I read the very informative link. I love your captures Patrick and look forward to the continuation of the lesson.

Dave.

[Chewys Dad]

Thanks Patrick, these are great shots! Lots of these little coal mining towns throughout Ohio and Penn, West Va etc. My mom grew up in a town like this (Glencoe Oh. When the mines were running full bore. I was there once as a kid, but it's all but dead now. Just across the bridge from Wheeling.
Thanks for Sharing these
Michael.

[teedlepeep]

Very interesting ... can't wait for the next installments !! The shots are fantastic too !

[pjflan7]

Dave, what types of mines did you have and were they centrally located or splashed all over the kingdom?
Michael, there are indeed many mines across the appalachian chain. But I had not specifically been to a former company mining town. Being a city boy, I am using electricity generated by coal fired plants...at least in our area. My mother's power in TN is both coal fired and nuclear. I had forgottten about the close symbiotic relationship between mining and steel production or any machinery run by steam. This mine company was a subsidiary of US Steel, run by JP Morgan......yep current financial conglomerate! Wonder where he got all of his money??

[shmelly]

Great bit of history PJ and great photos, look forward to more.

[Vinam]

Very interesting subject Patrick .. really well taken photos to got with it .. I know I will enjoy this series .. Pretty cool climbing that conveyor !!

Vin

[FDCPR]

Nice series Patrick, this is a place I don't know in that area. Thanks for the history lesson, look forward to more.

[billmac57]

A history lesson with pictures, I really like them, I look forward to seeing more and learning more.

[pjflan7]

Glad you have enjoyed so far.....trying to do something a little different than the normal fare of photos