West Virginia University’s ‘Black Diamonds’ exhibition shines
A new, interactive exhibit at West Virginia University’s Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum offers a glimpse of how coal was mined in the earliest days of the industry.
“Black Diamonds: The Early Coal Industry of West Virginia” explains what sparked the late 19th century coal boom in the state and focuses on the physical demands of mining coal in the hand-loading era. Hands-on activities in the exhibit simulate the work of a miner, so visitors get a real feel of what it took to mine coal a century ago.
“Before mechanization and steam powered punches, miners used their bodies and hands to release coal from the seam,” said Danielle Petrak, museum curator.
She explains, like today’s miners, these men took great pride in their work. “Black Diamonds” offers a great sense of what it was like to do their job. From pick axes, blasting supplies and carbide lamps to chest augers, coal punches and canary cages, the exhibit features early tools miners used.
“Miners would lean their chest into auger and then use the weight of their body to push the auger into the coal seem and then turn it with their hands,” said Petrak. “Miners took canaries in cages into the mine to test for gases. If canary died they would know noxious gases were nearby.”
West Virginia bituminous coal is among the finest and cleanest burning in the world but before the late 1800s, extracting large quantities from remote, mountainous terrain in the state was virtually impossible. However, the completion major railways in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, meant coal companies could access and transport their product and sell it for a sizeable profit.
“To help meet the increasing need for clean burning coal, the railroads also brought a pool of affordable labor to West Virginia–men and young boys eager to take on the backbreaking, perilous job of a miner,” said Petrak.
In the hands-on portion of the exhibit, visitors have the opportunity to simulate digging a trench with a pick, digging a hole with a chest auger, crawling in a low coal mine, and shoveling 10 pounds of coal, far less than the back-breaking amounts mines would shovel, Petrak notes.
“The interactive elements of the exhibit help make the job of a coal miner more relatable to the public. Black Diamonds helps them identify with the struggles and dangers that miners faced to support their families and supply fuel to our nation. It also reminds visitors what a valuable resource coal was in the development of our region and how different the industry was then compared to now.”
“Black Diamonds” was developed by the West Virginia Division of Culture and History in partnership with the National Coal Heritage Area as a traveling exhibit to visit schools and other venues in the state.
Petrak explains although the educational exhibit toured the southern part of the state, it is relatively new to the northern region.
“The exhibit is suited for audiences of all ages and backgrounds but is specifically targeted toward middle school students,” said Petrak. “In conjunction with the exhibit, we’ve developed a five-part educational unit which we plan to use in programs for sixth- to eighth-graders.”
Petrak hopes to expand social studies lesson plans in history, geography, culture, civics and economics. In addition, to inviting schools to the Watts exhibit, she also has a “Black Diamonds” unit to take to schools as well.
“The exhibit is suited for everyone but it brings something to middle school children that corresponds with what they’re learning in school and is new to the northern West Virginia and the region. The fact that it is interactive, enhances the experience,” Petrak said.
“Black Diamonds” is on view at the Watts Museum through July 2015. The museum is located in the Mineral Resources Building on the Evansdale Campus of WVU. Admission is free, and parking permits are available for museum visitors. For more information, please contact the museum at 304-293-4609 or wattsmuseum@mail.wvu.edu.