Mining s Brand on Tourism Presented by Carol Moore A SCHNABEL ENGINEERING COMPANY Knoxville, TN 37909
Tourism Council Motto: Build it and they will come, but only after we tell them about it. Demonstrate that tourism and mining are compatible
Coal Creek Mining History Welsh miners who helped East Tennessee rebuild after the Civil War, Use of convict labor in the mines starting in 1877, Coal Creek miners opposed convict lease system in 1891, resulting in the Coal Creek War with State of Tennessee Boom times when miners built their own Opera Houses 1902 Fraterville Mine Explosion 1911 Cross Mountain Mine Explosion and Rescue On the 100 th anniversary of the Great Fraterville Disaster, we sent out press releases looking for descendants of the miners when journalists Fred Brown called, saying he wanted to write an article. Can you get me into a coal mine? Everyone who uses electricity should have to visit a coal mine!!
Wrinkle and butt story Fraterville Mine Disaster 100 th Anniversary Memorial Service and Tour May 19, 2002 Members of Knoxville Actors Co op read Fred Brown s article about the five Dezern brothers who perished at Fraterville
Only handsome miners underground The actors said they were also surprised at the almost total absence of coal dust, the cool breezes that flush the mines constantly, and the smiling faces on the miners as they went about their work
Buffalo Creek Slurry Impoundment Post Failure Do you know that the son of a miner who died in the 1902 Fraterville Mine Explosion saved lives at Buffalo Creek by evacuating residents before the dam collapsed? Lonzo Murray, the son of Fraterville miner William Murray, was one of the 125 fatalities at Buffalo Creek.
Cross Mountain Mine Centennial Memorial Service and Dedication Ceremony
People kept asking us to show them where the history occurred, so we developed a map to show them
Installation of historical markers by Coal Creek Scholars
www.coalcreekaml.com This story started after receiving a call from Dr. Eirug Davies of Harvard University
Do you know that in addition to naming Glomawr, one of the Welsh of Tennessee wrote some of the Hazard Herald s first newspaper articles? I wonder if patrons of Glo Mart in Glomawr (Perry County), KY, know that Welsh miners from the East Tennessee Coal Company named the town after discovering a big (mawr) coal (glo) strike and opening a mine there.
Do you know that one of the Welsh of Tennessee was instrumental in starting WVU Tech in Montgomery? Thomas Phillips Davies was his name
Email from the great granddaughter of Jacob Vowell: I forwarded this to our girls so they can share it with their children. You re making me cry almost daily now.
Coal Creek Miners Museum. New in high school American history and geography is a standard that requires the teaching of the Coal Creek labor saga. I was glad to hear this, considering all the work Barry Thacker and others have done to raise awareness about Anderson County s labor strife in the 1880s and the tragic mine explosions that followed. Bring on the field trips. A winning combination!
After visiting the museum to learn the history, tourists can visit the sites where that history happened.
Lodge meeting at Opera House during the Coal Creek War
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative Restoring the American chestnut to the Appalachian Mountains on mined land prepared by the Forestry Reclamation Approach TACF predicts that, Restoration of the American chestnut will be the greatest environmental achievement of the 21 st century, which is a story to be told at the museum
31% survival rate of American chestnuts after 5 years of growth on FRA site with no ground cover
Reintroduction of native fish species to Coal Creek Another story for the museum
Five years ago, Rainbow Darters expected inhabitants but missing from the creek were placed in it. Health Day results from last year and last week confirmed the species is reproducing "We're teaching them (students) the creek is more important than just water going down a channel," said Charlie Saylor with TVA.
If you visit Coal Creek, leave by dark or face the wrath of Dick Drummond s ghost Dick Drummond served in the Navy before becoming a miner at the Shamrock Mine in 1892 Near the end of the Coal Creek War, miner Dick Drummond got into a fight with an officer over a girl. It took a squad of soldiers to subdue him and he was later found lynched from what is now known as Drummond Bridge.
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