Kentucky is home to Pike County, which is the largest supplier of coal in the U.S. However, we were also home to many other coal companies all across the state. Each one had their own store, settlement and set up for miners. During the 1930s and 1940s, things were a lot different for miners then it is today. Songs were written about the hazards of mining, meanwhile, miners lived in worse conditions then many third-world countries. They often had to get credit at the company store just to feed their families, eventually owing their entire month’s pay to the store prior to receiving it.
For the most part, coal mining camps had a community pump for running water, school house, store and rudimentary housing. They lived in more shacks than homes, lacking running water and some lacking power. Miners worked hard to support their families, but often just couldn’t make ends meet. Here are 25 images from the 1930s and 1940s that provide some insight into coal work and workers during those decades.
- A coal miner in Jenkins via 1935.
Ben Shahn
- A coal mining town in Floyd County, 1938.
Arthur Rothstein
- A Floyd County coal mine in 1938.
Arthur Rothstein
- A group of coal miners waiting for their ride in Jenkins, 1935.
Ben Shahn
- A miner working on some machinery in a mine, 1930.
Trip Adviser
- A miners children await his arrival in a Straight Creek Coal Co. home.
KY Coal
- Abandoned Tipple and miners’ homes in Chavies, Perry County, 1940.
Marion Post Wolcott
- An abandoned coal trestle near Chavies, 1940.
Marion Post Wolcott
- Carloads of coal await transport in Hazard, 1940.
Marion Post Wolcott
- Clover Gap Mine PV&K Coal Company Store.
KY Coal
- Coal breaker in Pike County, 1938.
Arthur Rothstein
- Coal miners during 1935 in Jenkins.
Ben Shahn
- Coal transport road near Kentucky River, 1940.
Marion Post Wolcott
- Families raise their own coal up Morris Fork, 1940.
Marion Post Wolcott
- Floyd County Coal mine, 1938.
Arthur Rothstein
- Miners catching a coal worker transport, 1935.
Ben Shahn
- Morris Fork coal shaft, 1940.
Marion Post Wolcott
- Miners waiting to enter the mines with machinery, 1930s.
KY Coal
- Morris Fork, Breathitt, Kentucky 1940.
Marion Post Wolcott
- Mountaineers raise coal near Buckhorn, 1940.
Marion Post Wolcott
- The heart of a coal mining town in Jenkins via 1935.
Ben Shahn
- US Coal and Coke Store in Lynch.
KY Coal
- A Straight Creek Coal Co. Miner and his family at dinner, 1945.
KY Coal
- The train transports coal from Hazard in 1940.
Marion Post Wolcott
- Miner’s daughter doing laundry without indoor plumbing.
Ky Coal
Coal miners have led a rough life in Kentucky, and other states. They struggled to survive, and often times developed Black Lung due to coal dust. They lived in conditions that even a slum lord would frown at, and did the best they could.
Ben Shahn
Arthur Rothstein
Trip Adviser
KY Coal
Marion Post Wolcott
Ky Coal
If there is coal mining history in your family, you likely understand the plight of those times. If not, hopefully, this will help you see and understand another part of Kentucky’s history. Personally, I think the conditions these hard working Kentuckians had to endure are tragic. What do you think about the old coal mining camps and conditions?
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