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Coal Mining-The Early Days
People have been mining since the eighteenth century, and compared to that time period; the lot of coal miners has only recently improved. Miners have lived with dangers the rest of us can't even imagine: slag falls, explosions, fires, gases, cave-ins or being crippled for life either from broken bones or the 'black-lung' disease that coal miners still aquire from breathing in coal dust. And it was not just in America, as they were mining for coal in Europe before they began here in the states.

The Beginnings of Coal Development
The Beginnings of Coal Development Photo of Early Coal Fleet From the Semi-Centennial History of West Virginia, by James Callahan, 1913. Notes on Coal, Oil and Gas Development By the Editor. The coal mining industry in West Virginia Is still in its infancy. Many pioneer miners, who have watched it grow and expand from very small beginnings, are still living. There was no mining on an extensive scale before the civil war.

EDWIGHT - Recalling a Coal River Company Town
By Johnny M Vergis Special Thanks to Goldenseal Magazine Let me take you to my hometown, Edwight, Raleigh County, back in the 1940's when I was growing up there. Let's look down from Turkey Rock on the mountain above town. There are coal miners walking to and from between the bathhouse and the company store, children playing, and womenfolk moving about. What a bustlng place my town is.

BUFFALO CREEK (1972)
THE BUFFALO CREEK FLOOD DISASTER, FEBRUARY 26, 1972 Buffalo Creek consists of about 16 small communities. A few of them are Lorado, Becco, Latrobe, Saunders, Pardee, Stowe, Crites, Kistler, Braeholm....... Buffalo Creek winds it way down thru these communities and empties into the Guyandotte River at the edge of the town of Man. On a rainy Saturday morning, February 26, 1972, 125 people; men, women and children lost their lives in the Buffalo Creek Flood Disaster. About 1,000 homes were destroyed and 4,000 people were left homeless.

1886 Preston County
The 1886 Preston County Coal Mine Disaster by Robert M. Moore On 21 January 1886, 39 coal miners lost their lives at the Orrel Coal Company in Newburg, Preston Co. WV. At 2:45 that Thursday afternoon an explosion of a gas called fire damp, resulted in the worst disaster in Preston County history. The following is an extraction of the names of the victims as well as other useful genealogical information taken from the Preston County Journal of January 28, February 4 and 11 of 1886.

History of West Virginia Mineral Industries - Coal
In 1742, John Peter Salley took an exploratory trip across the Allegheny Mountains and reported an outcropping of coal along a tributary of the Kanawha River. He and his companions named this tributary the Coal River, and his report became the first reference to coal in what is today West Virginia.

Mine deaths spark criticism of operator's record
(CNN) -- The deaths of at least 25 workers in a West Virginia coal mine this week have turned a harsh spotlight on the safety record of the mine's owner, which has paid record fines for safety and environmental violations.

We Mourn the Miners
We Mourn the Miners Allen Hershkowitz Senior Scientist, NYC and throughout the world Blog | About Posted April 6, 2010 All of us at the Natural Resources Defense Council join our nation in mourning the miners tragically kille

Drilling begins into coal mine; governor holds 'a sliver of hope'

Montcoal, West Virginia (CNN) -- Rescue workers began drilling a hole Tuesday toward where they believe four miners may be located more than a day after a blast killed 25 others in a coal mine here. "There's a sliver of hope, but we know that the odds are not in our favor," West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin told CNN. "Everyone's going to cling to the hope of a miracle," he told reporters. "That is the true agony of this."

Last-Ditch Mine Rescue Attempt

Rescuers resumed drilling on Wednesday to ventilate toxic gas blocking their attempt to reach four workers still trapped in a West Virginia mine—though the process could take days. Monday’s explosion was “very violent,” a company executive said Tuesday, so the 25 miners who died had little chance for survival.