Archaeologists say bulldozers already are damaging parts of the Blair Mountain battlefield, apparently in preparation for strip-mining the crest. Meanwhile, labor history buffs are redoubling their efforts to restore the site to the National Register of Historic Places, from which it was delisted.
Archaeologists say bulldozers already are damaging parts of the Blair Mountain battlefield, apparently in preparation for strip-mining the crest. Meanwhile, labor history buffs are redoubling their efforts to restore the site to the National Register of Historic Places, from which it was delisted.
As we've said before, Blair is truly historic. It was the scene of America's worst insurrection since the Civil War, and the largest armed labor uprising since the nation began.
In the early 1900s, coal mining was low-paying and deadly. Hundreds of miners in isolated company towns died in explosions and cave-ins. The newly formed United Mine Workers tried to unionize the diggers, but mine owners and government leaders fought back fiercely. A 1912 strike on Paint Creek brought mass murder and machine-gun strafing.
In Logan County, mine owners paid Sheriff Don Chafin to enlist hundreds of "deputies" to drive out organizers and keep miners in check. In 1919, armed miners assembled at Marmet to march against Chafin's forces, but backed down.
In 1920, a strike at Matewan turned into a shoot-out that killed seven Baldwin-Felts guards who had been hired as strikebreakers. Town Police Chief Sid Hatfield, a champion of the strikers, was charged in a different fracas. As he and a companion walked up the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse, they were gunned down by other Baldwin-Felts agents.
The murder inflamed miners, who gathered for a second march. In August 1921, 10,000 to 15,000 armed workers entered Logan County. Their advance was halted at Blair Mountain, where Sheriff Chafin's forces had installed machine guns behind breastworks.
Full-scale warfare ensued for several days, and perhaps 20 were killed on both sides. President Warren Harding sent Army units and even a squadron of fighter planes to suppress the uprising. Afterward, UMW leaders were tried for treason, but juries found them innocent.
Blair Mountain has enormous historic significance. It's considerably more important than many of the aged buildings protected by the National Register. Blair previously was listed on the Register, but was removed after dissenting landowners were recounted.
We don't know whether boosters will succeed in regaining national recognition, or whether they can prevent bulldozers from obliterating the battlefield. But West Virginia's mine wars were a terrible chapter that should be marked and commemorated more extensively by the state.
Archaeologists say bulldozers already are damaging parts of the Blair Mountain battlefield, apparently in preparation for strip-mining the crest. Meanwhile, labor history buffs are redoubling their efforts to restore the site to the National Register of Historic Places, from which it was delisted.
As we've said before, Blair is truly historic. It was the scene of America's worst insurrection since the Civil War, and the largest armed labor uprising since the nation began.
In the early 1900s, coal mining was low-paying and deadly. Hundreds of miners in isolated company towns died in explosions and cave-ins. The newly formed United Mine Workers tried to unionize the diggers, but mine owners and government leaders fought back fiercely. A 1912 strike on Paint Creek brought mass murder and machine-gun strafing.
In Logan County, mine owners paid Sheriff Don Chafin to enlist hundreds of "deputies" to drive out organizers and keep miners in check. In 1919, armed miners assembled at Marmet to march against Chafin's forces, but backed down.
In 1920, a strike at Matewan turned into a shoot-out that killed seven Baldwin-Felts guards who had been hired as strikebreakers. Town Police Chief Sid Hatfield, a champion of the strikers, was charged in a different fracas. As he and a companion walked up the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse, they were gunned down by other Baldwin-Felts agents.
The murder inflamed miners, who gathered for a second march. In August 1921, 10,000 to 15,000 armed workers entered Logan County. Their advance was halted at Blair Mountain, where Sheriff Chafin's forces had installed machine guns behind breastworks.
Full-scale warfare ensued for several days, and perhaps 20 were killed on both sides. President Warren Harding sent Army units and even a squadron of fighter planes to suppress the uprising. Afterward, UMW leaders were tried for treason, but juries found them innocent.
Blair Mountain has enormous historic significance. It's considerably more important than many of the aged buildings protected by the National Register. Blair previously was listed on the Register, but was removed after dissenting landowners were recounted.
We don't know whether boosters will succeed in regaining national recognition, or whether they can prevent bulldozers from obliterating the battlefield. But West Virginia's mine wars were a terrible chapter that should be marked and commemorated more extensively by the state.
