[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 9, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               WEST VIRGINIA NATIONAL COAL HERITAGE AREA

                                 ______


                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 9, 1994

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation to 
establish a National Coal Heritage Area in southern West Virginia.
  From the perspective of this gentleman from West Virginia, the 
history of American labor has left a great mark on the people of this 
Nation. Moreover, in the southern West Virginia coalfields which I have 
the honor of representing in the House, our very culture was shaped to 
a large degree by the epic struggles and adversities faced by those who 
worked in the coal mines during the early part of this century, and 
their efforts toward unionization.
  In fact, over the past several years there has been renewed interest 
in our Appalachian culture and the heritage that has evolved, to a 
great extent, in the southern West Virginia coalfields as a result of 
these struggles and adversities.
  ``They felt, rather than knew, their history,'' wrote Lon Savage in 
his book about the West Virginia mine wars of the early 1920's, 
entitled ``Thunder in the Mountains:''

       Their lore was bloody: they had been crushed and killed on 
     their jobs and fired from them when they tried to organize a 
     union that could articulate their needs. They had been 
     evicted from their company homes and machine gunned in their 
     union tents. Periodically they had risen in fury.

  The coal mining history of southern West Virginia is indeed a story 
of struggle, of human sacrifice, and of occurrences which have left 
their mark on the history of the Nation as a whole. A central element 
in this history is, of course, the role of the people who worked in the 
mines and their efforts toward unionization. In 1890, West Virginia's 
coal production was 6.3 million tons; 10 years later it rose to 21.5 
million tons and the age of the coal barons such as James Otis Watson, 
Joseph Beury, and Isaac T. Mann had begun. Company stores and housing 
and payment by script became a way of life for many. The native 
population became integrated with Southern blacks and immigrants from 
Italy and other countries. Mary ``Mother'' Jones became a frequent 
visitor to the State and many mines were unionized by 1902.

  However, a great deal more history was to be made as represented by 
the subsequent labor disturbances on Paint Creek and Cabin Creek in 
1912 and 1913, Matewan in 1920, and the battle at Blair Mountain the 
following year; a battle in which an army of 10,000 coal miners took up 
arms and threatened to overthrow the governments of two counties in 
West Virginia. Marching to open the southern coalfields to the union 
and to avenge the assassination of Sid Hatfield, hero of the Matewan 
Massacre, the miners were met by sheriff's deputies and Baldwin Felts 
agents under the control of nonunion coal operators and a division from 
the U.S. Army, equipped with airplanes, bombs, and poison gas.
  These were the days of the West Virginia mine wars. The events which 
took place are part of West Virginia's heritage, and a part of 
America's heritage. A history that played not only an essential role in 
the formation of our culture and values, but to the industrialization 
of the United States.
  For it was at places like Matewan and Blair Mountain that the line in 
the sand was drawn. Where the demand that human dignity, and decency, 
be recognized. As PBS noted in its television show, ``Even the Heavens 
Weep,'' about the Battle of Blair Mountain:

       What happened here in 1921 needs to be remembered, for it 
     was a turning point for America. It was one of those rare 
     moments when history itself seemed to hold its breath. Those 
     at the top of the mountain, were not just defending Logan and 
     Mingo Counties. They were defending the 19th Century belief 
     that those with wealth and power had a right to the destiny 
     of those who toiled. Those who marched to the mountain, 
     were bringing with them the new century's conviction that 
     there were limits to what humans could do to one another 
     for the sake of profit and power. The mountain's shame, is 
     that it became a symbol for the violence of an era. Its 
     glory is that so many came to insist that the new age 
     begin.

  Today, there are few physical vestiges of this era remaining. I 
believe it is incumbent upon this generation to ensure that what does 
remain is not lost to further decay. For these old mining camps, 
company stores, tipples, and related structures are an integral and 
important part of our heritage and the lessons learned from them should 
not be forgotten or lost to future generations.
  In order to facilitate the preservation of the historic and cultural 
resources associated with the coal mining heritage of southern West 
Virginia, I felt it important for the National Park Service to conduct 
a resource survey and study. This study is now completed. Entitled ``A 
Coal Mining Heritage Study: Southern West Virginia'', it notes:

       In no other state has coal mining so dominated the economy 
     and social structure. The remoteness of the area, combined 
     with rapid industrialization and population growth, resulted 
     in the creation of a society unusual for its ethnic and 
     racial diversity. Today, the relationship among different 
     elements of the past and present in the coal mining region 
     form a distinctive landscape of national interest.

  Using this study as a basis, the legislation I am introducing today 
would establish a National Coal Heritage Area in southern West Virginia 
in order to provide the means to recognize, preserve, enhance, 
interpret, and promote the coal mining heritage of the region.
  Under this legislation, the Interior Secretary would be authorized to 
enter into a contractual agreement with the State of West Virginia to 
assist in the development and implementation of integrated cultural, 
historical, and land resource management policies and programs in order 
to retain, enhance, and interpret the significant values of the lands, 
waters, and structures of the area. This agreement would also provide 
for assistance in the preservation, restoration, maintenance, 
operation, interpretation, and promotion of buildings, structures, 
facilities, sites, and points of interest for public use that possess 
cultural, historical, and architectural values associated with the coal 
mining heritage of the area.

  Further, the agreement would facilitate the coordination of 
activities by Federal, State and local governments and private 
businesses and organizations in order to further historic preservation 
and compatible economic revitalization. In addition, it would provide 
for the development of guidelines and standards for projects, 
consistent with standards established by the National Park Service, for 
the preservation and restoration of historic properties, including 
interpretive methods, that will further historic preservation in the 
region.
  Finally, under this agreement, assistance would be available for the 
acquisition of real property, or interests in real property, by 
donation or by purchase, for public use that possess cultural, 
historical, and architectural values associated with the coal mining 
heritage of the area from a willing seller with donated or appropriated 
funds.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend this legislation to the House.

                          ____________________