3.6 Linear Feet, 3 ft. 7 in. (5 document cases, 5 in. each); (1 record carton, 15 in.); (1 flat storage box, 3 in.)
Creator
Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology
Location
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown,
WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Language
English
Abstract
Records of the Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology (IHTIA) pertaining to its work on Blair
Mountain, Logan County, WV, the site of the Battle of Blair Mountain. Fought in 1921, this battle was a culmination of the
largest civil uprising since the Civil War, featuring the confrontation of mine workers with state police and volunteer militia.
The collection includes correspondence, typescripts, maps, clippings, photographs, and artifacts that pertain to the Blair
Mountain reconnaissance survey, cultural resource survey and recording project, and symposium. Highlights include typescript
copies of a report on the Blair Mountain Cultural Resource Survey and Recording Project, typescript copies of documentation
related to Historic American Engineering Records project HAER WV-50, shell casings found on Blair Mountain that might date
to the battle, and core samples of Blair Mountain trees. A listing of artifacts can be found in box 5, folder 21; artifacts
are in box 6. Tree core samples are in box 7. For more information on the IHTIA and their Blair Mountain projects, please
see the Historical Note.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Conditions Governing Access
No special access restriction applies.
Preferred Citation
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology, Records
regarding Blair Mountain, A&M 3857, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown,
West Virginia.
The Institute for the History of Technology and Industrial Archaeology (IHTIA) , founded in 1989, was part of West Virginia University's Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. IHTIA worked in conjunction
with the National Park Service's Historic American Engineering Records (HAER) to document, analyze, and preserve America's
industrial heritage while providing unique educational opportunities.
The Blair Mountain Cultural Resource Survey and Recording Project was a project undertaken in 1991 by the IHTIA in cooperation
with the West Virginia Coal Association, United Mine Workers of America, and the West Virginia Humanities Council. Preceded
by a reconnaissance survey, the Cultural Resource Survey was phase I of the project, and the Cultural Resource Recording was
phase II. Phase III would have been a Battle of Blair Mountain multiple property National Register of Historic Places nomination,
but the permission of principal landowners was not obtained.
For further reading on this project, please see The Battle of Blair Mountain (West Virginia): Cultural Resource Survey & Recording Project. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University, 1992. This title is available at the West Virginia & Regional History Center.
The Battle of Blair Mountain , also known as the Miners' March or the Red Neck War, was part of the West Virginia Mine Wars. Precipitated by the opposing
interests of the southern West Virginia coal companies and those trying to unionize the southern West Virginia coal miners,
the battle was one of the largest civil uprisings in U.S. history and the largest armed rebellion since the Civil War. From
August 25 to September 2, 1921, in Logan County, West Virginia, roughly 10,000 armed coal miners confronted roughly 3,000
state policemen, volunteer militiamen, and strikebreakers at Blair Mountain. The battle resulted in several deaths and ended
after the United States Army intervened by Presidential order.