Our Story

Welcome to the Blair Community Center and Museum, located in Historic Blair, West Virginia, at the base of Blair Mountain – site of the largest labor conflict in US history. This is a project that we initiated in the summer of 2011, coming off the heels of a massive march to preserve Blair Mountain  <insert link here>. Since then, we have been working in the community to create a space for people to socialize and have events, to set-up a museum, and in general promote and preserve the history of the West Virginia Mine War. What we are asking is for you to help build off this initial successful start, and to continue developing and maintaining this extremely unique place.

As the Blair Community Center and Museum, we are a non-profit grassroots organization devoted to the archeological and historical preservation of Blair Mountain as a critically important piece of labor history in America. As a community center we work to provide response and assistance to local problems such as extreme environmental destruction and pollution from strip mining operations on the mountains all around. We were formed on September 4, 2011 and since have been renting a building to serve as the space for the community center and museum, but our budget is donation based and our space is in need of lots of renovation for us to maintain and expand our foothold.

Why the History Matters and Need Preservation: The Battle of Blair Mountain

            The battle of Blair Mountain, in 1921, is the largest civil uprising on American soil since the Civil War.  The conflict was due to brutal and unfair working conditions in the West Virginia coalfields. The spark that touched it off was the murder of Matewan Police Chief Sid Hatfield, who earlier had befriended miners when coal companies tried to evict striking workers from their homes. On August 2nd, 1921, more than 10,000 union coal miners assembled near Charleston. They armed themselves for a march over mountainous terrain to rescue illegally imprisoned miners in Mingo County, WV.    

            The rebellion grew, but awaiting them entrenched along the ridges off Blair Mountain in Logan County -- a coal operator stronghold even unto this day -- was a private army led by Logan County Sheriff, Don Chafin and backed by coal operators. The two armies were heavily armed with machine guns, high-powered rifles and dynamite. Over a million rounds of ammunition over the course of the battle. After four days of heavy fighting the U.S. Army arrived and quelled the conflict peacefully. Some of the most recent and cutting edge research about the battle suggests that the miners were much more effective than given credit for, and were about to break through the defending lines. While the 1920s were a bad time nationwide for labor unions, when given the legal right to organize in 1933 by FDR, the core leaders of the march organized the West Virginia southern coalfields in lightning speed. Further, the mine workers went to be central founders of the United Auto Workers and United Steel Workers. In a sentence, Blair Mountain can be seen as the base of the emergence of the American middle class of the 1950s and 1960s. But for years the site of the battle remains unmarked and forgotten, and could be obliterated by strip mining, unless we stop it.

Why is it not Yet a Park?

           The area of ridgeline atop Blair Mountain has been proposed as a park to commemorate the important labor history of the site. The area is perfect for an outdoor recreation area, with access roads and nearby ATV trails already built.

            The park remains only a dream because of encroaching strip mining. Since the 1990’s citizens have attempted to place Blair Mountain on the National Register of Historic Places, but as of yet the influence of coal companies in state politics has stopped all attempts. Strip mining permits currently allow the stripping of the battlefield, which would destroy the archeological sites. A campaign to save Blair Mountain has been mounting in the last years, culminating in the summer of 2011 with a modern March on Blair Mountain. The march brought a thousand union miners and mountain activists together to urge the state and federal government to save this one mountain and its history.

Impacts

  The space we have is a large church which is in a rural area and which we have converted to the Community Center and Museum. As we run it as an office, community center, and museum we need some serious infrastructure development in order to grow and build on the momentum we already have. For instance we do not have drinkable water near, we have a leaky roof, poor heating, and we need investments in the museum – showcases, frames, important museum pieces. Some improvements over the long-term to the museum is purchasing a water filtration system that can be used by local residents and ourselves, converting the building to solar power, building a greenhouse to use as a community garden, and many other projects. We are aware that all the improvements and renovations that need to be done here will cost more than $10,000, but by helping to seed these projects you will be placing us in a great position to carry these plans forward.  Whatever amount raised will be used fully towards the renovation, maintaining and improvement of the Community Center and Museum.