Like so many of the mining companies in the Pocahontas field, Ashland Coal & Coke Company was
organized by men from the Pennsylvania anthracite region. Several of the original stockholders were from
Ashland, Pennsylvania, and for this reason, the . . . — — Map (db m178968) HM
From the perspective of the coal company, the company store had a vital economic function. In an age when sixty percent of the mine’s cost of production consisted of wages, it ensured that the flow of money was circular. Miners’ wages flowed . . . — — Map (db m178984) HM
Throughout much of the history of mining, miners have been hampered in their efforts to earn a living wage by the lack of steady work. In the years prior to the 1930s, when unionization and mechanization of loading began to change the industry, the . . . — — Map (db m178974) HM
Ashland is located along the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek, one of the most heavily developed coal regions in the Pocahontas field. At its height, the North Fork valley held an estimated ten thousand people, some of whom worked for the Ashland Coal . . . — — Map (db m178973) HM
Child labor was common in West Virginia during the hand loading era, which took place from the onset of coal mining in the 19th century until around 1930. Mining was a skilled craft, and it took a number of years to learn. A young miner usually . . . — — Map (db m178964) HM