Location: |
513 Ewart Ave., Beckley, WV 25801.
Interstate 77/64, exit 44. (37.784408, -81.196138) |
Open: |
APR to 01-NOV daily 10-17. Tours during peak season on the hour and on the half hour. [2024] |
Fee: |
Adults USD 22, Children (4-17) USD 12.50, Seniors (55+) USD 16. Online booking available. Groups (15+): Adults USD 15, Children (4-17) USD 9.50, reservation required. [2024] |
Classification: | Coal mine |
Light: | Incandescent |
Dimension: | T=13 °C. |
Guided tours: | L=500 m, D=45 min.. V=50,000/a [2006]. |
Photography: | |
Accessibility: | |
Bibliography: | |
Address: | Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, PO Box 2514, Beckley, WV 25802, Tel: +1-304-256-1747, Fax: +1-304-256-1798. E-mail: |
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info. |
1889 | Phillips-Sprague Mine opened. |
1905 | mine modernized as a drift mine. |
04-JAN-1906 | first coal shipped. |
1953 | coal mine closed and property sold to the city of Beckley. |
1962 | show mine Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine opened to the public. |
1987 | scenes of the film Matewan filmed at the mine. |
1988 | listed on the National Register of Historic Places. |
2007 | closed for the erection of a new Visitor Center. |
30-APR-2009 | new Visitor Center opened. |
Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine is a typical coal mine of West Virginia, and there are still various operating mines. In 2006 the number of visitor boasted because of a tragic mining accidents at two other mines. The death of 14 miners was covered in newspapers all over the world, and so many people tried to learn more about coal mining at this show mine.
This mine has been the place of filming activities. Scenes of the movie Matewan, a film about the bloody battle to unionize a coal mine, were filmed here. It was also featured on a Discovery Channel documentation.
The Beckley Coal Mine was mined mostly between the 1880s and 1910, and thus the shown technology is of that era. There are open carbide lamps and also security lamps, which do not ignite methane gas but show its presence. The coal was mined manually, and every worker filled his own cart. Then he marked his cart with a round metal tag, and sent it out. The tags were collected and counted, and the miner was paid 20 cents for a cart. With about 10 carts per days he earned 2 dollars daily, which was not too bad for the turn of the 20th century.
Coal mines are rather dangerous, as the coal produces inflammable gases, especially methane. As soon as there is an igniting flame, for example the miners lamp, there will be an explosion. The job of the fireboss was to walk the complete mine daily and check for gases, before the men entered the mine. This was pretty dangerous but also well paid. Safety lamps, where the flame was covered by a wire mesh, did not ignite the gas, the mesh cooled down the temperature until it was too low. But the gas caused the colour of the flame to change. The fireboss hat to check the colour of the light continually while he was walking the mine, and to avoid causing any other spark which would ignite the methane.
The visitors ride through the dark passages of a "vintage" coal mine, which means the historic abandoned coal mine named Phillips-Sprague Mine, on an open mine train. The mine train is locally called man trip because it was used to bring the miners to their workplace. The whole tour is made by train, but there are various stops where the guides give in-depth information on the mining methods and equipment seen. The guides are veteran miners and provide firsthand accounts of the daily work of coal miners. At the end of the tour a more modern part of the mine is reached. The timber struts are replaced by steel plates and bolts, and there are the first machines to help cutting the coal. When the mines were modernized, they started to pay the miners by the hour instead of paying by the amount of coal.
Back on the surface the tour is completed by a visit to period coal camp buildings situated throughout the grounds. The Coal Company House, Superintendent’s Home, Pemberton Coal Camp Church, and the Helen Coal Camp School are lovingly restored.
The show mine was closed for more than one year between 2007 and March 2009. A new visitors center was rebuilt, with 1,300 m² of space for exhibits, a replica of a coal company store and an extensive collection of coal camp artifacts. Other parts of the 3.5 Million Dollar modernization are a new car park, pedestrian areas and outdoor exhibits.