Research

The West Virginia Mine War Research Project is a long-term community-based research project focused on Blair Mountain, the Whipple Company Store, and Paint Creek-Cabin Creek. It is facilitated by the Blair Mountain Heritage Alliance (BMHA), and is run out of the Blair Community Center and Museum. It is a multidisciplinary project involving history, ecology, sociology, anthropology, archaeology and other academic disciplines. Our goal is to develop connections between world-class researchers and coalfield community members, scholars, activists, and artists.

With this project , we are attempting to:

• Engage and work with the West Virginia public so as to facilitate community-led research projects on coalfield history.
• Raise awareness of marginalized aspects of our history such as the Great Land Swindle, the West Virginia Mine Wars, and the Black-Lung struggle.
• Bring academic resources (grants, cutting edge research technology, etc.) and relationships/access (top-tier research institutions, publishers, media) to coalfield communities.
• Build intellectual and technical skills in alternative and integrated learning methods.
• Introduce elementary, middle, and high-school students to a major academic research project by engaging in outreach programs and incorporating them at age-appropriate levels of the research process.
• Work with regional universities and colleges to incorporate local scholars and researchers in order to further their academic growth and goals.
• Build confidence in mountain communities to explore and assert their intellectual and creative energy through various media forms – research papers, literature, poetry, artwork, music, craftwork, etc.

These project goals will be accomplished through traditional Appalachian values – emphasis on community, sharing, and hardwork. As we post research, and as different research projects develop, we will be posting them here. So check back often!

If you’d like to be involved, contact us at blairheritage@gmail.com