The Kentucky Coal Museum is a

heritage center A heritage centre, center, or museum is a public facility – typically a museum, monument, visitor centre, or park – that is primarily dedicated to the presentation of historical and cultural information about a place and its people, and of ...

located in Benham,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. Its focus is the history of the coal industry in

Eastern Kentucky Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways * Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 * Eastern Air ...

, featuring specific exhibits on the

company towns A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

of Benham and neighboring

Lynch Lynch may refer to: Places Australia * Lynch Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Lynch Point, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica * Lynch's Crater, Queensland, Australia England * River Lynch, Hertfordshire * The Lynch, an island in the River ...

. It is housed in a former

company store A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared g ...

that was built by

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

in 1923. In June 1990, the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce purchased the building for the future site of the museum. After receiving additional grants from the state of Kentucky, the museum opened in May 1994.

Building

Built in the 1920s by International Harvester, the museum features four stories of exhibits on the mining history and the coal miner's life. It is a contributing building to the Benham Historic District, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. In April 2017 the Kentucky Coal Museum added 80 solar panels which cut $8,000 off its annual electricity bill. The Southeastern Kentucky Community and Technical College own the Kentucky Coal Museum and thanks to them they paid for the installation of the solar panels. The solar panels for the museum now generate 60 kilowatts of power at maximum capacity.

Education

The museum provides education on the life of coal miners and the pressures they faced while working in dangerous underground mines. The museum has over 6,000 visitors each year. In early January, recent issues have caught the attention of residents of Benham and Lynch located in Harlan County about surface mining close to these historical towns. This could damage water sources and block the view of the city which helps tourism, which in turn could affect the Kentucky Coal Museum due to a decrease in tourism investments.

Exhibits

Museum visitors have access to exhibits and displays on four floors. Some include the Mock Mine, life of a coal miner and their family, community art mural of Benham, mining tools, Native American & early settler displays, coal camp displays, coal camp schools, coal camps as multicultural places, mine safety exhibits, and the Loretta Lynn Exhibit. Artifacts, antiques, photographs, and machinery make up more than 30 exhibits in the museum. One of the most well known tours is the Portal 31 Underground Mine Tour. This tour allows visitors to ride a rail car through a coal mine that include sounds and animated exhibits. Other activities for visitors include having their picture taken outside by the two-ton block of coal and learning about the formation of coal by looking at visuals and fossil displays.

References

External links

Kentucky Coal Museum & Portal 31Portal 31Kingdom Come State Park
{{EMCF Attractions Museums in Harlan County, Kentucky History museums in Kentucky Mining museums in Kentucky Buildings and structures completed in 1923 Museums established in 1994 Coal museums in the United States 1994 establishments in Kentucky Company stores in the United States Navistar International Historic district contributing properties in Kentucky Commercial buildings completed in 1923 Mining in Kentucky

Building

Education

Exhibits

See also

References

External links