In the early 1900s, coal mining expanded quickly and broadly in the increasingly industrialized United States. As demand for coal grew, operators sped up production. The result was a largely untrained labor force and the use of hazardous, unregulated explosives. A catastrophic explosion in the ...
In December 1922, Donald Tarr tragically lost his life in a mining accident at the Burnside Colliery near Shamokin, Pennsylvania. As one of the small number African American miners in the region, Tarr and his family had deep roots in the local coal industry. Discover the story of this skille...
However, coal mining, in particular, has been a mainstay of both West Virginia’s economy and identity. Several mining disasters have also occurred since its inception, killing more than 21,000 miners since the first records were kept in 1883. Explosions from methane gas and fires, plus poor...
In the 1880s, Joseph Fels, born in Virginia of immigrant parents, pioneered the manufacture of “Naphtha” soap flakes, then nurtured Fels Naphtha into the largest soap manufacturer in the United States. Adolph Lewisohn started out in America in 1867 as a representative of his father's Hamburg...
Information on West Virginia's economy, government, culture, state map and flag, major cities, points of interest, famous residents, state motto, symbols, nicknames, and other trivia.
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A coal mine explosion in Sago, West Virginia, kills 12 miners and critically injures another. This accident and another within weeks lead to the first changes in federal mining laws in decades. 1999 British police arrest the “Yorkshire Ripper” serial killer, Peter Sutcliffe. ...
The other step is to compensate losers. The lesson from destitute mining towns in south Wales and West Virginia is that job losses store up political tensions. Coal India, the national mining colossus, has 270,000 workers. From Shanxi province in China to Jharkhand in India, local governments ...
The other step is to compensate losers. The lesson from destitute mining towns in south Wales and West Virginia is that job losses store up political tensions. Coal India, the national mining colossus, has 270,000 workers. From Shanxi province in China to Jharkhand in India, local governments...
West Virginia had emerged as a cheap source of coal, in large part because capitalism allowed wealthy mine owners to exploit workers. Coal mining was dangerous, the hours were long, the conditions deplorable, and the pay minimal — often paid in scrip, currency accepted only at the company st...