Description: Caption reads: "Abandoned Coal Tripple at Pomeroy, Meigs County, Ohio. Evening on Pomeroy Bend. Code: F15, Class: Industry. Ident: Abandonded Coal Tipple. Location: Pomeroy. District 3." View of Pomeroy Bend and an anabanadoned coal tipple, along the Ohio River. Pomeroy is located in southeastern Ohio, along the Ohio River. It was named for Samuel Pomeroy, a Boston merchant who in 1804 purchased 262 acres of land on the site of the city. As early as 1770 coal was discovered near by, but it was 1809 before Nicholas Roosevelt opened a mine along the river to provide fuel for the steamboats about to appear on the Ohio. In 1832 the coal seams on the Samuel Pomeroy tract were opened and 1,000 bushels of coal were shipped down the river. The next year Pomeroy formed a company which, having acquired four miles of the river front, began to mine and distribute coal on a large scale. Prior to 1850 Pomeroy was the only town in Ohio shipping large quantities of coal down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. By 1880, when Ohio was the Nation’s third-ranking bituminous coal Sate, Meigs County, of which Pomeroy is the seat, stood fifth among some 30 coal producing counties. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F20_001_1
Subjects: Ohio River; Coal trade--Ohio River Valley--History
Places: Pomeroy (Ohio); Meigs County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows two men shoveling coal into minecarts at the Blue Bell Mine near Strasburg, Ohio, in Tuscarawas County. A note on the reverse of the photograph reads "Close up surface coal mining. Blue Bell mine near Strasburg. S. H. Green. West High Ave., New Phila, N.K." The first European settlers recognized the value in Ohio's natural coal resources and in 1837 the first Geological Survey of Ohio studied the mineral resources of the state, especially coal. Ohio's canal system allowed for easy coal transportation for mining, and by the mid 1800s railroads and more advanced mining technologies advanced coal mining output in Ohio. Eventually, coal became the primary source of energy for electricity and fueled the many steel mills in the upper Ohio River Valley. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F02_030_001
Subjects: Coal mines and mining--Ohio; Coal miners; Charcoal industry--Ohio; Blue Bell Mining Company; Photography--Ohio
Places: Strasburg (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Two 8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm) photographs document coal mining at the Sunday Creek Coal Mine Number 9 in Hocking County, Ohio. Organized in 1905, the Sunday Creek Coal Company operated dozens of mines in southeastern Ohio and West Virginia. Sunday Creek Coal Mine #6 in Millfield, Ohio was the site of one of the worst mining disasters in Ohio's history. On November 5, 1930, a buildup of methane gas exploded when the trolley the miners used to carry coal out of the mine produced a spark on the track. Eighty-two men were killed. Following the explosion, the mine closed for about a month. It reopened and operated until 1945. Tougher safety regulations were instituted in 1931 as a result of the Sunday Creek Coal Mine disaster. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3093_3735472_001
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Business and labor; Coal mines and mining; Coal;
Places: Hocking County (Ohio)
 

Description: Broadside titled "An Appeal on Behalf of the Miners of Jackson County, O." This document relates the hardships of the coal miners of Jackson County resulting from a suspension of mining work beginning in November 1896. It was created by a committee of prominent citizens in Wellston to solicit donations to help striking miners and their dependents in the area. The broadside estimates that 22,000 people in Wellston depend on income from the mines and are in desperate circumstances. The 1897 strike was one of a number of labor disputes between coal miners and mine owners in the Hocking Valley region between 1880 and 1940. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: VFM4536
Subjects: Coal mines and mining; Strikes and lockouts; Labor--Ohio
Places: Wellston (Ohio); Jackson County (Ohio);
 

Description: Photograph of a man, possible Works Progress Administration (WPA) employee, standing by and reading the "Caution Mine Fire" sign on the side of the road. This photo is from the small collection 5676, coal mine fire, New Straitsville, Ohio. Photographs from the small collection 5676 document smoke rising from the underground fires, men who were possibly employees of the WPA working to stop the spread of the fire, a map of the territory affected by the mine fires and a street scene in New Straitsville, Ohio. The photos were taken March 7 and 8, 1938 by Walter E. Burton. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1,000,000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc5676_01
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a man, possible Works Progress Administration (WPA) employee, viewing the smoke rising from the underground from a distance. This photo is from the small collection 5676, coal mine fire, New Straitsville, Ohio. Photographs from the small collection 5676 document smoke rising from the underground fires, men who were possibly employees of the WPA working to stop the spread of the fire, a map of the territory affected by the mine fires and a street scene in New Straitsville, Ohio. The photos were taken March 7 and 8, 1938 by Walter E. Burton. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1,000,000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc5676_02
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a man, possibly photographer Walter E. Burton, photographing smoke rising from the underground. This photo is from the small collection 5676, coal mine fire, New Straitsville, Ohio. Photographs from the small collection 5676 document smoke rising from the underground fires, men who were possibly employees of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) working to stop the spread of the fire, a map of the territory affected by the mine fires and a street scene in New Straitsville, Ohio. The photos were taken March 7 and 8, 1938 by Walter E. Burton. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1,000,000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc5676_04
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a man, possible Works Progress Administration (WPA) employee, probably looking at a covered mine tunnel, driven through veins in the path of the fire to stop the spread of the fire. This photo is from the small collection 5676, coal mine fire, New Straitsville, Ohio. Photographs from the small collection 5676 document smoke rising from the underground fires, men who were possibly employees of the WPA working to stop the spread of the fire, a map of the territory affected by the mine fires and a street scene in New Straitsville, Ohio. The photos were taken March 7 and 8, 1938 by Walter E. Burton. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1,000,000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc5676_06
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a man, possibly photographer Walter E. Burton, as he sets up the camera on the ground level entrance into the mine. This photo is from the small collection 5676, coal mine fire, New Straitsville, Ohio. Photographs from the small collection 5676 document smoke rising from the underground fires, men who were possibly employees of the WPA working to stop the spread of the fire, a map of the territory affected by the mine fires and a street scene in New Straitsville, Ohio. The photos were taken March 7 and 8, 1938 by Walter E. Burton. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1,000,000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc5676_09
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a man, possible Works Progress Administration (WPA) employee, touching the collected water where steam is rising. This photo is from the small collection 5676, coal mine fire, New Straitsville, Ohio. Photographs from the small collection 5676 document smoke rising from the underground fires, men who were possibly employees of the WPA working to stop the spread of the fire, a map of the territory affected by the mine fires and a street scene in New Straitsville, Ohio. The photos were taken March 7 and 8, 1938 by Walter E. Burton. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1,000,000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc5676_07
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of two men, to the right is possibly a Works Progress Administration (WPA) employee and the other most likely James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, standing in front of a tunnel into the mine. This photo is from the small collection 5676, coal mine fire, New Straitsville, Ohio. Photographs from the small collection 5676 document smoke rising from the underground fires, men who were possibly employees of the WPA working to stop the spread of the fire, a map of the territory affected by the mine fires and a street scene in New Straitsville, Ohio. The photos were taken March 7 and 8, 1938 by Walter E. Burton. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1,000,000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc5676_11
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of a man, possibly a Works Progress Administration (WPA) employee, feeding a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material down a tunnel to stop the mine fire from spreading. This photo is from the small collection 5676, coal mine fire, New Straitsville, Ohio. Photographs from the small collection 5676 document smoke rising from the underground fires, men who were possibly employees of the WPA working to stop the spread of the fire, a map of the territory affected by the mine fires and a street scene in New Straitsville, Ohio. The photos were taken March 7 and 8, 1938 by Walter E. Burton. The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1,000,000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mines fires affected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: sc5676_10
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Coal mines and mining; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)