West Virginia Mine Wars Museum

West Virginia Mine Wars Museum The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum was founded in 2015 and is located in Historic Matewan.
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RAID OF THE LICK CREEK TENT COLONY: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY ⛏Around midday on June 14th, 1921, a group of over 70 vigilan...
06/14/2026

RAID OF THE LICK CREEK TENT COLONY: ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY ⛏

Around midday on June 14th, 1921, a group of over 70 vigilante volunteers and officers with the newly-formed West Virginia state police surrounded the Lick Creek tent colony from all sides. State police and volunteers swarmed through the tents, knocking them down, breaking locks, slashing giant holes in the canvas, kicking over and destroying furniture, all while corralling miners, women, and children.

The arrested miners were all marched to Williamson and crammed into a single jail cell.

LEARN MORE: https://wvminewars.org/news/lickcreek

Our first Mate Street Melodies for 2026 is in the books! 🎶🎻📖Chris Haddox delighted us with music of the coalfields, with...
06/13/2026

Our first Mate Street Melodies for 2026 is in the books! 🎶🎻📖

Chris Haddox delighted us with music of the coalfields, with an educational twist.

We've got music, book talks and more slated for the rest of the year, don't miss out!
Check out the calendar here: https://wvminewars.org/events

Black lung is an entirely preventable occupational respiratory disease. Sadly, miners must often fight hard to receive s...
06/12/2026

Black lung is an entirely preventable occupational respiratory disease. Sadly, miners must often fight hard to receive support when they become afflicted.

Learn how this disease has afflicted miners throughout West Virginia's industrial history, as well as about the people who have fought to advance industry occupational safety and health standards with West Virginia Mine Wars' new exhibit: Entirely Preventable: The Toxic Legacy of Silica Dust from Hawks Nest to Black Lung.
Get more info + RSVP to the reception here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1516237913373571😷 ⛏️

THE BATTLE OF BLAIR MOUNTAIN WAS ONCE NATIONAL NEWS 🗞Published August 31, 1921, on the front page of the Washington Even...
06/11/2026

THE BATTLE OF BLAIR MOUNTAIN WAS ONCE NATIONAL NEWS 🗞

Published August 31, 1921, on the front page of the Washington Evening Star, this political cartoon accompanied an article detailing how President Harding dropped papers containing his proclamation stating all persons engaged in "insurrectionary proceedings" disperse before noon on September 1.

Across the country, media was following the battle in close detail, sharing the story to millions of readers. Since then, the largest labor uprising in United States history has become barely a footnote in the story of our nation.

The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum works to revitalize this people's history—one of multi-cultural solidarity in the face of oppressive forces. ⛏

Support our work! https://wvminewars.org/join

We have some new faces in the Museum this summer! ☀⛏🎸🏛J. Evan Maynard is our Museum Archives Intern. A native of Naugatu...
06/09/2026

We have some new faces in the Museum this summer! ☀⛏🎸🏛

J. Evan Maynard is our Museum Archives Intern. A native of Naugatuck, West Virginia, he recently graduated from the University of Pikeville in 2026 with a BA in History, minoring in political science, religious studies, and world language and culture. At the Museum, Evan will be supporting various aspects of collections management and cataloging.

Alyssa Davis is our Museum Docent Intern. Hailing from Delbarton, West Virginia, in Mingo County, she is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science at Marshall University and will return this August as a senior to continue her studies. At the Museum she will be offering support to Museum guests through front desk work, tours, and more.

The Museum is so happy to help these students gain experience through their internships and to have extra sets of hands during our busiest season. Welcome Evan and Alyssa!

Most of our United Mine Workers pin badges no longer have the ribbons intact, but this one from Colorado does. According...
06/08/2026

Most of our United Mine Workers pin badges no longer have the ribbons intact, but this one from Colorado does. According to (who you should absolutely be following) these ribbons were reversed for funerals. The mine at Hezron in Colorado was run by the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company, the same company involved in major strikes in 1913-14 and 1927-28. ⛏️
As with the majority of our UMWA pins from this era, this one was manufactured by Whitehead & Hoag of Newark, New Jersey.

Chris Williamson, former Assistant Secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, is one of the presenters sla...
06/06/2026

Chris Williamson, former Assistant Secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, is one of the presenters slated to speak at the Museum on June 20th at our "Black Lung Still Kills: Entirely Preventable Gallery Reception."

Learn more about the call to action here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1516237913373571

ON THIS DAY IN MINE WARS HISTORY ⛏📜 Paint Creek–Cabin Creek Strike, miner and striker Donato DiPietro, an Italian immigr...
06/05/2026

ON THIS DAY IN MINE WARS HISTORY ⛏📜

Paint Creek–Cabin Creek Strike, miner and striker Donato DiPietro, an Italian immigrant from Boomer, was killed by mine guards after a shootout in the woods. He was the first striker to die in the extended labor conflict.

This marked a grim turning point and the beginning of “the first mine war.” DiPietro’s death fueled escalating violence, as miners and their families—many of whom now lived in squalid conditions after being evicted from their homes—further resisted the mine guards employed by coal companies to enforce a brutal regime of submission.

Learn more in our latest blog post: https://wvminewars.org/news/2026/6/5/donato-dipietro-the-first-casualty-in-the-paint-creek-cabin-creek-strikes

We’re excited to announce that The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum is part of the new Fieldwork Fellowship!Fieldwork is a...
06/05/2026

We’re excited to announce that The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum is part of the new Fieldwork Fellowship!

Fieldwork is a new national program for rural and Tribal communities
that provides customized design, planning, and project development support. This is an opportunity to work on fully utilizing our 11,000- square-foot home, the Cecil E. Roberts Building. 🏛

“The Fieldwork Fellowship’s inaugural cohort come from rural and Tribal communities across the country, working on some of the most inspiring and
challenging arts, cultural, and humanities issues today,” said Maria Sykes,
Fieldwork’s co-director and Executive Director of Epicenter in Green River, Utah.
“We are thrilled to be working alongside To Be Done Studio in the coming year to
help rural communities throughout the states shape their futures.”

Upcoming, we plan to work on uplifting our community and strengthening the work we do in telling the people's history of West Virginia's union coal miners through expanding in underutilized spaces in the Museum.

Be on the lookout for updates! We want this to be a community-centered project and look forward to hearing from you on what you would like to see inside the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum. ⛏

FRIDAY!Join us for a night of folk music born of southern West Virginia's coalfields! 🎶John Haddox will be performing t...
06/04/2026

FRIDAY!

Join us for a night of folk music born of southern West Virginia's coalfields! 🎶

John Haddox will be performing the songs that have echoed in the hollers of the southern coalfields for a century for FREE at the Matewan Community Center inside the Museum.

Address

112 Mate Street
Matewan, WV
25678

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 5pm
Wednesday 10am - 5pm
Thursday 10am - 5pm
Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+13046910014

Website

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