20:04 Oct 10 2010
Times Read: 1,181
As a child I always wanted to explore the abandoned buildings I would see, step into that darken doorway into the unknown, the unwanted. But the notice to STAY OUT, NO TRESPASSING always kept me out. What can I say- I am a angel. Ok- more like a to chicken shit to do it. But that seems to of changed of late. Not saying I would put my life in danger, and if the place is boarded up to keep people out I am not breaking into it. So when I drove by this place a month or so ago I knew I would go back. While I have seen the town before it is at that time I said to myself- I will get into those buildings. Talking to a local resident he tells me the police was never about and the place was not locked up tight. Unless a neighbor called on you- people stop all the time. I did not see any No Trespassing signs so I was determined to visit this place, see just how much I could get to.
Cat, aka Nightgame, was kind enough to go with me. Means a lot when it meant I picked her up at 7:00 am that morning, trying to get the early morning light in a town two hours away. About 6 hours later I was leaving the town with a boat load of pictures, some laughs and a deeper respect for the miners. It was a wonderful way to spend a Fall day in the hills of Kentucky.
Now some info before the pictures, having to be broken up into buildings. This below info and the historical picture from the Portal 31 website:
In 1917 the U.S. Coal & Coke Company, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel, built the community of Lynch, Kentucky, then the world's largest coal camp. It was named for the then head of the company, Thomas Lynch. The coal camp was built on part of the 19,000 acres the company had purchased in the southeastern tip of Harlan County, near the Virginia border. The camp's population peaked at about 10,000 persons but the reported figures vary because of the transient nature of the miners and their families at that time. One thousand company owned structures provided housing for people of 38 nationalities, the most prominent of which were Italian, Spanish, Czech, Polish, English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish. By the 1940s this mining complex employed more than 4000 persons above and below ground.
The public buildings were constructed of cut sandstone, and included a company commissary, post office, theater, hotel, hospital, churches, and schools. Many company buildings were built of stone as well, such as the offices, bath house, power plant and lamp house. In the 1920s U.S. Coal & Coke owned the world's largest coal tipple with a capacity of 15,000 tons. On February 12, 1923 the world's record for coal production in a single 9 hour shift was achieved when miners operating 40 shortwall cutting machines produced 12,820 tons of coal, filling 256 railcars.
While considered one of Appalachia's model coal camps due to its' company provided health care, education, churches, housing, social services, wages and benefits and recreation, it was still a closed community where the company carefully controlled all aspects of the political and economic process. The company had their own police force and it was used to keep union organizers out of the coal camp and to intimidate miners who tried to join the union. Throughout the 1920s and well into the 1930s the company along with many Kentucky coal producers did everything in their power to prevent unionization. This action by the coal companies and the actions of the miners earned Harlan County the name of "Bloody Harlan".
All the coal produced at Lynch by U.S. Coal & Coke Co. was "captive coal", meaning it was all produced by U.S. Coal & Coke Co. for U.S. Steel consumption, and was produced from drift mines. All coal was shipped from Lynch to U.S. Steel plants via the L&N (Louisville & Nashville) Railroad. Coal was mined from the 56" Elkhorn C Seam, 56" Keokee Seam, 50" Kelioka Seam at the company's No. 30 and No.31 Mines at Lynch. U.S. Coal & Coke also mined coal at Gary, Thorpe, Elbert, and Filbert, West Virginia. Today many of the company's buildings, including a tipple, and a mine portal are part of a coal mining museum complex at Lynch.
In the 1950s the company began selling homes to individuals and the town was incorporated, thus allowing for an elected mayor and town council, although still heavily influenced by the company. Incorporated as a fifth class city, it had a population of 1,517 in 1970, 1,614 in 1980. 2008 population estimate had Lynch's population at 820.
As you can see the town is dying a slow death. While they have open parts of the mine to tours- these are not those buildings. Also- the one day I picked to go was also a day of Senator came to town as part of a day of honor to the coal miners. The two policemen of the town were out and about… damn it. lol But as they were so busy with the crowd (when the town is of about 500 people- a crowd of 200 is big) so we was not bothered as we started to enter the buildings but for one time.
When we first pulled up, driving past that sign of No Trespassing- DO NOT ENTER! To the end of the road at the water treatment plant for the town- a very small building, tank. A pickup pulls up before I even got my camera bag out of the car. He worked at the water plant and asked us what we were doing there. After the learned we were not with the State, checking up on him (his words- not ours) he was fine with us looking about the place, even talked with us for a while about his family being from our home town. He stayed about the place, only leaving when we did hours later.
Now we have me walking about, Cat watching. I pointed to the stairs I found, saying I was going up, pointing upward as we could not hear each other due to the water treatment plant sounds. She looked at me and took a picture. Thinking she heard me I started climbing the steel steps for 6 floors, some broken loose, some standing free from the building… and me loving it. LOL
About an hour later I returned to her and she was a little upset, to say it politely. “Where have you been? I called out to you and you did not answer me. How was I to hear you if you fell, broke a leg? What if you weren’t able to call out? Well… if the stairs fell out from under you I guess the crash would have been loud enough. We are going to have to work on this- No more stairs climbing unless I can hear you.” *image of Cat with pointed finger and glaring at me*
SOOOO mother hen like for a Cat. :) But then I always could fall walking straight on dry flat land. Enough history- let’s get to some pictures. I had to break them up in groups as they are so many for each building. Might take me a week to get them all crop, edit, posted.
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