California may not be the first state that comes to mind when contemplating coal mining, yet coal was a critical energy resource for the fledgling state. The Mount Diablo Coalfield in California’s east bay produced over four million tons of coal between 1850 and 1906. Today, it is a 6,000-acre park encompassing 5 ghost towns and twelve closed coal mines. Before rail spanned…
Tag: tour
Exhibition Coal Mine
Exhibition Coal Mine Museum is nestled in the West Virginian town of Beckley, along the beautiful New River Park. The museum is part of an impressive compound of historic structures and artifacts tracing the history of the coal industry in West Virginia. Visitors can explore coal mining history in exhibits of mining equipment, a guided mine tour, and restored historic structures relocated from company…
Portal 31
Kentucky’s First Exhibition Coal Mine A trip to the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum would be incomplete without a visit to Portal 31. Only a couple miles drive away, visitors can travel into the early days of coal mining and experience the evolution of the industry in a series of vignettes staged throughout a ride in Portal 31. Like neighboring Benham, Lynch…