Coal Mining: Walker County, AL
In 1872 Jasper, Alabama was a small village located some distance from a railroad. The main industries were lumber and farming. Modernity had not reached this small area and life was content for its people. They new nothing of modern inventions and luxuries, such as telephones and electricity. There was a village blacksmith, the crude schoolhouse, the wooden store buildings, and a courthouse also built of wood. There were games of marbles, checkers, horseshoe pitching, and horse-trading.
Jasper, the county seat of Walker County, was incorporated in 1889 and can claim coal and timber as its main industries. The city is a trade and processing center for both products. Walker County, formed in 1832, is located in Northwest-central Alabama. Historically, the main industry in Walker County is coal mining. Combined with nearby Jefferson County, Walker was at one time credited with sixty percent of Alabama’s coal production. Although still an industry of the county today, coal mining is declining and other industries such as: hay, corn, livestock, poultry, timber and natural gas production are becoming increasingly important. In 1872, the tremendous profitability and future boom industry of coal was unknown to the citizens of Jasper and Walker County. Capitalism and the railroad would eventually transform the area to a producer of necessity. Coal for trains, furnaces, homes and manufacturers would become the future of the small village of Jasper.
Walker County, even before its official formation in 1832, claimed coal as an important resource. Although, if the legend is true, they may not have known just how important it was. The story credits Walker County as the site for the first coal discovery in Alabama. Apparently, two men were camping on Lost Creek and built a fire receptacle with three black stones. After awakening from several hours sleep, the men were terrified to realize the stones surrounding their fire area were red and glowing. Believing it to be the supernatural work of the devil, they made a hasty retreat. Upon curious and educated investigation, other men discovered the presence of coal explaining away the supernatural glowing rock phenomenon. By 1830, Alabama began commercially producing coal in Tuscaloosa County. It was dug from seams near the river and shipped by boat through the Alabama river systems to Mobile. Due to the treacherous nature of river shipping, which required great skill and navigation ability, it was necessary to transport coal during the flood season. The boom days of Jasper began in 1887 when the Frisco Railroad built a route through Jasper from Memphis, Tennessee to Birmingham, Alabama.
A mineral rich area such as Jasper can contribute its previous isolation from a railroad to the money saving tactics of the railroad companies. Railroad companies serve to connect large cities in the North to port cities of the South. It was beneficial to them to take the shortest, and least expensive, route. This meant avoiding the hills and mountains of North Alabama. Therefore, the vast quantities of mineral wealth were left hidden and unmined. Momentous change was signaled for Walker County in 1884 as the railroad was first used loading coal from mines near Corona. In 1888, a Northern Alabama route into Jasper from a city in northwestern Alabama, Sheffield, was built. With the building of the Frisco and Northern Alabama lines, the coal mining industry of Walker County began serious development. With the discovery of the profitable nature and abundance of Alabama coal, more rail lines were built in Alabama. By the Civil War Alabama was proving to be a valuable state to the nation and the South. In 1920 there were 162 coalmines in Walker County. By 1925, “the total tonnage of coal from the various mines in the county (had reached) several million tons each year”. Plentiful coal deposits allowed Walker to become one of the richest counties in the state during the early 1900s. Most of that coal was mined underground.
Early coal miners would use picks and crowbars to dig coal from the creek and riverbeds. As underground mining became more prevalent the men continued to use picks and shovels but used mules to pull coal out of the mines. Each miner had a round piece of metal known as a “coal check” that was imprinted with his company name and his ID number. When he loaded a coal car he hung the check on the car so the people above ground would know who loaded the coal. Each miner was paid by the amount of coal he loaded. The miner worked by the light of a carbide lamp attached to his hat. Canaries were used to warn underground miners of the dangers of noxious gases. The tools used were usually made and repaired at the mine site by a blacksmith. He played a prominent role in the early mines. The blacksmith could shoe as many as thirty mules in one day. The mules used to pull mining cars were generally kept near the caretakers’ home. The children of the home were responsible for the mules care. Everyone from a father to his children had a role in the mining camp.
By modern standards mining camp life was not easy. Miners and their families usually lived in a company house located near the mine. Several houses would be aligned on both sides of the street to form the mining camp. The houses were modest with usually a front and back porch, two bedrooms, and a kitchen. There was no indoor plumbing therefore a path to the outhouse was a necessity. Early homes had no electricity or running water. Wells were centrally located in the camp for community use. Lighting consisted of kerosene lamps and a fireplace provided heat or wood/coal burning stove. The wood or coal burning stove would also be used for cooking and boiling water for laundry. Washday was the most difficult for the miner’s wife. She washed clothes in hot soapy water and then boiled clothes over a wash pot heated by a wood fire in the back yard. The clothes were then rubbed on a scrub board and roll pressed to remove water so they could be line dried. Although everyone was poor and daily tasks were many times difficult, some recall the mining camps as not a bad place to live. Some camps provided dance halls and movie houses. There was also camaraderie in the camp as everybody knew everybody.
The social gathering place for early coal miner and his family was the company store. It was a place that the men could swap stories or play checkers while their wives purchased goods for the home. Almost everything the family needed could be purchased from the company store. “Many miners, unable to survive until the biweekly pay day, would have to take an advance in the form of clacker or scrip”. To get full value the clacker had to be used in the company store owned by the miner’s employer. Some clacker looked like an admission ticket and was assigned a specific value. It was considered a merchandise trade check and usually included the company name on the front. Coinage was also used. Each store had its own symbol engraved or punched on the coinage. If a miner did not go to the company store that produced the clacker he would receive value for only eighty cents per dollar. If the miner did not pay with clacker the good could be charged to an account and deducted on pay day.
By necessity, both black and white mining families shopped in the company store. However, their pay counters were segregated. Most life in the mining camp was segregated. Although housing was virtually identical, blacks lived in one section of the camp and whites in the other. They also had separate schools. Within the mine blacks and whites worked side by side. In the early 1900s Alabama mine labor was approximately fifty percent white and fifty percent black. However, some operations were twenty-five percent white and seventy-five percent black. The state remained non-unionized in 1924 despite efforts of the United Mine Workers. In attempt for union recognition a serious strike occurred in 1920-1921. Many blacks participated as scabs for the purpose of having a job and the monetary benefits. One particular group at Powderly mining camp sought reciprocity for their work actions. Representatives of the African-American school wrote the Debardeleban Coal Company, as well as other companies, seeking a monetary contribution for their role in the beginning of the mine strike. The success of labor unions was allowed by hard economic times of the Great Depression resulting in the reduction of tons produced in the mine. It also allowed for the success of labor unions. Safety was of utmost concern for both black and white miners. It was one issue labor unions could use to obtain support.
One safety issue miners had to face was the transportation of coal from the interior of the mine to the surface. Several precautions had to be taken with regard to hauling coal. The passages for transport were required to be at adequate width; therefore the tunnels were driven through the coal and overhead rock removed. Lumber was used to support the tunnel. The tunnel trains were constructed in virtually the same way as a narrow gauge railroad. However, the nature and space limitations of a mine required more complex rail systems. In the use of trolley locomotives workers must be protected from electric shock. “The ends of steel rails in the track must be connected with copper wires (bonded) and copper trolley wires suspended from the roof above the rail opposite the rooms or working places.” Trolley wires would be shielded or suspended at least six and a half feet above the rail. Other precautions include separate walking passages, frequent holes for safety when a railcar passes, signals to warn of approaching carts, dispatchers and block signals for when two rail cars operate on one track. Frequent inspections must be made to insure the safety of miners.
Other safety issues include the prevention of falling rock and water removal. In establishing tunnels and rail lines, as well as the actual mining process, workers had to contend with water removal. A 1936 report estimated that for each ton of coal, in some mines, twenty tons of water must be removed. This is an expensive process requiring pumps, pipe, and specialized labor. A silent danger miners face is ventilation.
Seasons and climatic conditions do not affect underground miners. Throughout the year mine temperature remains constant. However, it is of the utmost importance that underground mines have a continuous supply of fresh air. The dangerous gases in the mine must either be diluted with fresh air or removed. Two methods of ventilation practiced in Alabama mines were continuous and split systems. The continuous system allows air pulled by fans to travel in a continuous stream through the mine tunnels. The split system divides the air current into separate current using regulations in the entry points and doors. The air is diverted to a specific section while the other current continues to the next split until the mine is properly ventilated. Proper ventilation and safety training is essential to the mortality of miners. “Although there were some improvements in Alabama mines during the 1920s and 1930s, there was always a danger of death or injury from rock falls, explosions, and machinery.” Between 1921 and 1942 there were 1445 fatalities in Alabama coal mines. Coal companies continue to strive for improved safety. Technological advances of the late 1900s contribute to the improvements in safety and method. Alabama began commercially producing coal around 1832. In 1856 Alabama’s first large scale underground mine opened. Between 1870 and 1926 the mining output in Alabama steadily rose to meet demand. Production fell in 1956, but increased during WWII. Although post war production fell, 1954 marked an upward trend supported by demand. New methods of mining were adapted to increase output.
Of the two types of mining, surface and underground, the nature of the deposit determines the method used. Surface, or strip, mining is generally preferred because of the great return. This is the most economic method when the coal can be mined near the surface. In the early years of strip-mining very little reclamation was done. By the early 1970s environmentalists were outraged. Amidst pressure, companies began more reclamation of stripped land. They replaced topsoil and vegetation, usually pines. Critics were still not happy. A Birmingham News staff reporter, Charles Richardson, stated in 1971, “Alabama’s lasting legacy is a ravished countryside.” Others praised the productivity and efficiency of strip mining claiming strides had been made to improve the environmental impact. Today, approximately sixty percent of coal is taken from surface mines. There are fifteen surface mines operating in Walker County today and a total of 32 in the state of Alabama. There are specific requirements for operating a surface mine. A company must first research the site with regard to environmental issues such as, climate, wildlife, vegetation and soil composition. An application must be made for a federal permit and the company must “post bond for each acre of land it mines to assure that it will be properly mined.” After the proper permits are rewarded, and fees paid, the company prepares the land for mining. It is first cleared with the topsoil stored for later use. Holes are drilled to allow explosives to reach the coal seam. Once the coal is reached and removed the reclamation process begins. The soil is replaced and all attempts are made, in accordance with the Federal Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, to restore the land to a comparable or better productive state. Advocates of surface mining feel this process is sufficient and any risk is justifiable when evaluating the increased safety and output that surface mining offers.
As the demand for coal became greater, more efforts were made to increase production. Coal today is used to generate electricity. The demand has sustained Alabama coal production. “In 1992, about tree-fourths of Alabama coal production was distributed to domestic markets and nearly one-fourth was exported overseas.” Domestic use of coal was primarily more than 90% in Alabama. Since the 1960s, leading consumers of Alabama coal are electric utilities. Alabama coal is delivered to more than half of other industrial manufacturers. For example, paper and pulp mills, cement and lime plants, and organic fiber manufacturers. In Alabama, undoubtedly, coal is the most important mineral commodity with regard to production value. “In 1992, the State’s output of coal represented nearly one-half of the total estimated value of all mineral commodities production in the state, including crude oil and natural gas.”
The progress made in coal mining is directly related to the increase in consumption and demand. In the early history of the nation the forests of America provided the primary fuel. With industrial expansion an alternative fuel source was necessary. From the accidental use of black rocks for a coal fire in Walker County to being a leader in present day coal production, Alabama has made significant contributions to the coal mining industry.
February 22 2006 07:53 pm | History and Ramblings
October 4th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
I enjoyed reading the history of WCAL. My father’s people born & raised in WCAL. Dad worked the coal mines in Gamble, AL