West Virginia Mine Wars Museum – Matewan, West Virginia - Atlas Obscura
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West Virginia Mine Wars Museum

Matewan, West Virginia

Dedicated to the largest armed uprising in American history since the Civil War.  

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West Virginia Mine Wars Museum zride1905 (Atlas Obscura User)
West Virginia Mine Wars Museum zride1905 (Atlas Obscura User)
West Virginia Mine Wars Museum zride1905 (Atlas Obscura User)
"Scrip" that miners received as pay. zride1905 (Atlas Obscura User)
West Virginia Mine Wars Museum zride1905 (Atlas Obscura User)
West Virginia Mine Wars Museum zride1905 (Atlas Obscura User)
Replica of bomb dropped from plane during battle. zride1905 (Atlas Obscura User)
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This small museum located in an old bank building (with drive-through teller machines still present) covers a unique but little-known period in American and labor history known as the Mine Wars. 

These “wars” started in central West Virginia in the 1910s and culminated with the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, in which approximately 20,000 fought, in southern West Virginia. A collection of immigrants, Black Americans from the South, and other residents of the various hallows located around the state joined forces to stand up against the mine guard system. 

The town of Matewan, politically independent of coal companies, served as a focal point for union organizers during this period and witnessed the “Battle of Matewan,” in which Sheriff Sid Hatfield got into a wild-west shootout with mining security.

Know Before You Go

The museum is open Wednesday to Saturday, but contact them before visiting as staffing is limited.

civil war mines museums
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Published
July 12, 2023
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