Phillips-Sprague Mine, also known as the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine, is a historic
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...
located at New River Park in
Beckley,
Raleigh County, West Virginia
Raleigh County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,591. Its county seat is Beckley. The county was founded in 1850 and is named for Sir Walter Raleigh. Raleigh County is included in the ...
.
The mine opened about 1889 on what had been operated as a
drift mine
Drift mining is either the mining of an ore deposit by underground methods, or the working of coal seams accessed by adits driven into the surface outcrop of the coal bed. A drift mine is an underground mine in which the entry or access is above ...
. Commercial development of the drift mine began in 1905 and the first coal was shipped on January 4, 1906. Mine operations ceased in 1953, and the property sold to the City of Beckley.
The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine opened in 1962, as the first historic site wholly dedicated to educating the public about coal mining. It consists of 1,500 feet of restored passageways and entries with 3,000 feet of vintage track.
It reopened to the public on April 1, 2008. It is a
preserved coal mine that offers daily tours and a history lesson on coal mining in Appalachia.
It was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1988.
References
External links
Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine- City of Beckley
History museums in West Virginia
Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in West Virginia
1889 establishments in West Virginia
Buildings and structures in Raleigh County, West Virginia
Museums in Raleigh County, West Virginia
Mining museums in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in Raleigh County, West Virginia
Industrial buildings completed in 1889
Coal mines in the United States
Energy infrastructure on the National Register of Historic Places
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