Collections : [West Virginia and Regional History Center]

Mine disaster reports, official hearing reports, and hearing and inquest transcripts (1938-1967). Most of the mine disaster reports were created by inspectors from the West Virginia Department of Mines, and some of them involved federal inspectors. Other reports were created by the United States Bureau of Mines and the West Virginia Department of Mines Coal Mine Safety Board of Review. Also includes volumes 3 through 8 of the Decisions of the Interior Board of Mine Operations Appeals (1974-1977). The mine disaster reports and associated materials pertain to the following mining companies, with counties where the disaster occurred in parentheses: American Rolling Mill Company (Boone County), Amigo Smokeless Coal Company (Wyoming County), Boone County Coal Corporation, Christopher Coal Company (Monongalia County), Davis Coal and Coke Company (Tucker County), Hatfield-Campbell Creek Coal Company (Kanawha County), Hitchman Coal and Coke Company (Marshall County), Island Creek Coal Company (McDowell County), Katherine Coal Company (Harrison County), Koppers Coal Company (McDowell County), MacAlpin Coal Company (Raleigh County), C.H. Meade Coal Company (Raleigh County), Meadows Coal Company (Raleigh County), New River and Pocahontas Consolidated Coal Company (McDowell County), Oglebay Norton Company (Nicholas County), Page Coal and Coke Company (McDowell County), Parsons Coal Company (Preston County), Pemberton Coal and Coke Company (Raleigh County), Pocahontas Fuel Company (a division of Consolidation Coal Company, McDowell County, near Tazewell County, Virginia), Pursglove Coal Mining Company (Monongalia County), Raleigh Coal and Coke Company (Raleigh County), and Red Jacket Coal Corporation (Wyoming County).

Records and photographs documenting the history of southeastern West Virginia compiled by Summers County residents Fred Long and Stephen Trail. Many of the items were collected by a local newspaper, the Hinton Daily News (later the Hinton News). The collection focuses on the history of Summers County and Hinton from the mid-1700s to 2012, as well as the history of other areas in southeastern Virginia and western Virginia. Subjects include the town of Hinton, Hinton High School and Summers County schools, genealogy and family history, the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Railroad, archaeological and geographical features, other Summers County communities, wars, and other topics. Materials include a large quantity of photographs and negatives along with clippings, printed materials, ephemera, oral histories, maps, motion pictures, sound recordings, typescripts, manuscripts, and other types of materials. Many items are facsimiles of photos, documents, and newspapers.

Raleigh and Mercer County photographs, both original and copied. (Copied material does not include original source.) Includes: a Confederate soldiers' reunion in Beckley in 1905; a still raid exhibited at the courthouse (ca. 1930-1934); a 1920 political rally and parade in Beckley featuring U.S. Presidential race between Governor J.M. Cox and Warren G. Harding; parade in Beckley (ca. 1920-1930). Woodrow Wilson High School marching band (1942); Raleigh General Hospital (ca. 1950-1970); aerial of Crab Orchard (1957); Hearses at site of Eckles mine explosion (1926); town of Lester (1978); Raleigh House Hotel (1882); the mansion of E.E. White, a Raleigh County coal baron (1909); portrait of Alfred Beckley, founder of Beckley, W. Va. (ca. 1870-1888); photograph of portrait painting of Maria Prince Beckley, mother of Alfred Beckley; Wildwood, home of Alfred Beckley (n.d.); Fitzpatrick, West Virginia, a lumber mill town (ca. 1925-1935); the American Legion Cemetery (ca. 1980-2000); tombstone for Kenneth Shadrick, first U.S. soldier killed in Korea (ca. 1980-2000); and churches of Raleigh County (ca. 1980-2000; 3 items; includes Baptist, Catholic, and Jewish temple). Mercer County subjects include: a Mercer County baseball team in Matoaka, W.Va. (ca.1910); a train collision near Princeton (1927; includes narrative information on back of photograph); a historical marker regarding Mitchell Clay in Mercer County; and a photograph of the Imperial Smokeless Coal Company in Quinwood, Greenbrier County (ca. 1910-1920).

Collection consists of approximately 300 photographs that appeared in the three volume series, "Beckley U.S.A.," by Harlow Warren, published in 1955, 1963, and 1968. These images document the town of Beckley and Raleigh County, West Virginia. Subjects include portraits of prominent and historically notable citizens; group portraits of families, community and civic organizations, school groups, and city and county officials, among others; interior and exterior views of local businesses and buildings; and aerial views of buildings, roads, and natural features in the region. The collection includes mostly prints, many of which are card mounted. There are also a few negatives, newspaper clippings, and "proof" pages for the book.

This collection of panoramic photographs primarily documents the coal miners of Fayette and Raleigh counties. The photographer, Rufus "Red" Ribble, was born May 14, 1878, near Blacksburg, Virginia, and died December 27, 1967 in West Virginia. He came to West Virginia sometime before 1920 and lived out his life in Mount Hope. The collection contains 119 panoramic photographs, which were made with a large rotating camera called a Cirkut camera. These photos are contact prints; all but one are black and white. Images include group portraits, landscapes/views of towns, and a few views of store interiors. Subjects of the photographs include coal miners, mining towns, local businesses, and local social and church groups. The majority of the photos are group portraits of coal miners from Fayette and Raleigh counties.

Topographic maps by the U.S. Geological Survey of various cities and towns in West Virginia. These are quadrangle maps covering four-sided areas bound by parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude. Contour lines show land shapes and elevation; colors distinguish map features, such as roads, rural areas, woodlands, urban areas, landmark buildings, etc.

The personal business papers of William Hereford McGinnis (1855-1930), a Beckley lawyer who was prosecuting attorney of Raleigh County, 1892-1896, a senator in 1902, judge of the Supreme Court of Appeals, 1922-1924, chairman for a number of years of the executive committee of the Democratic Party in Raleigh County, and delegate to the national convention in 1920. There are case papers, correspondence and other records of the Hatcher-McGinnis Law Firm, 1834-1930; family photographs; and materials relating to the Methodist Church and World War I.

The collection consists of ledgers, journals, and cashbooks of the Goodwill Coal and Coke Co., Greenbrier Coal and Coke Co., Gulf Coal Co., Louisville Coal and Coke Co., Winding Gulf Coal and Coke Co., and the Winding Gulf Colliery Co., with some material on the operation of company stores. There is also correspondence (1911-1915) between the managers of mines at Winding Gulf and Davy, West Virginia, discussing production levels, availability of railroad cars and freight rates, New River and Pocahontas Operators Organization, operating difficulties, labor shortages and working conditions, the Mabscott mine strike and German "socialists" at Mabscott, the Bottom Creek explosion at Vivian, the UMWA and a 1915 agreement, and the good roads movement in Raleigh County in 1915.