In West Virginia no “extensive mining took place until the mid-1800s, although coal was known to be throughout much of the state.” At that time coal usage in West Virginia was mainly for heating living quarters or for retail markets such as a blacksmiths. The inhabitants of Wheeling, West Virginia used coal to heat their homes in 1810, and the “first steamboat to use coal on the Ohio River. In the beginning, local inhabitants would surface mined the coal, using picks and shovels to dig the coal out and taken away for their own use or sale. Later, sleds, wheelbarrows, and carts to haul the coal being pulled by oxen, mules, goats, dogs.
The western Virginia coal fields were beginning to be noticed, so much so that Professor William B. Rogers, “Virginia foremost geologist visited the mines to analyze the coal” in 1836. By 1840 the coal mines were producing enough coal to feed factories and residential homes in Wheeling, West Virginia. There was so much coal coming out of that …show more content…
Soon there was a mine inspector who would inspect the mines to make sure there was safe mining conditions. In Wheeling, West Virginia in 1890, better conditions were pushed by the United Mine Workers of America union group, with those conditions improved with was long overdue. The West Virginia Department of Mines was created in 1905, to enforce inspections laws. “The National Industrial Recovery Act, passed in 1933 was a help industry and labor during the Depression, established an 8-hour day and minimum wage provision, and condoned unions.” Newer methods of extracting coal, along with newer equipment today help keep the cost down for the coal companies. However, there are far fewer coal miners in the once rich coal field areas of West Virginia. There are still a few coal miners that work underground extracting coal, but they are generally on much small
The western Virginia coal fields were beginning to be noticed, so much so that Professor William B. Rogers, “Virginia foremost geologist visited the mines to analyze the coal” in 1836. By 1840 the coal mines were producing enough coal to feed factories and residential homes in Wheeling, West Virginia. There was so much coal coming out of that …show more content…
Soon there was a mine inspector who would inspect the mines to make sure there was safe mining conditions. In Wheeling, West Virginia in 1890, better conditions were pushed by the United Mine Workers of America union group, with those conditions improved with was long overdue. The West Virginia Department of Mines was created in 1905, to enforce inspections laws. “The National Industrial Recovery Act, passed in 1933 was a help industry and labor during the Depression, established an 8-hour day and minimum wage provision, and condoned unions.” Newer methods of extracting coal, along with newer equipment today help keep the cost down for the coal companies. However, there are far fewer coal miners in the once rich coal field areas of West Virginia. There are still a few coal miners that work underground extracting coal, but they are generally on much small