Coal Creek Saga now part of Tennessee s education curriculum. Coal Creek Watershed Foundation, Inc. Knoxville, TN

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1 Coal Creek Saga now part of Tennessee s education curriculum by Barry Thacker, P.E. Coal Creek Watershed Foundation, Inc. Knoxville, TN

system in the South, preserved Welsh literature for

2 Coal Creek miners left a legacy they fueled the Industrial Revolution in East Tennessee, ended the cruel convict lease system in the South, preserved Welsh literature for posterity, and made working conditions safer for miners worldwide.

3 Hiram S. Chamberlain Edward J. Sanford Charles McClung McGhee Sen. Calvin Brice Major E. C. Camp Community leaders saw development of the area s rich natural resources as the way for Knoxville and the surrounding area to rebuild during the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War To achieve that goal, they recruited experienced Welsh miners and master iron puddlers, which enabled the Knoxville Iron and Coal Company (KICC) to become the largest employer in both Knoxville and Coal Creek. David R. Thomas David Richards Joseph Richards Philip Francis

4 894 poles N Coal used to fuel Knoxville s Industrial Revolution came from land owned by Coal Creek Mining and Manufacturing Company (CCMM), which is still in business today as the Coal Creek Company William S. McEwen ( ) attorney and banker Henry Howard Wiley ( ) engineer and surveyor Beech Grove Briceville 894 poles W Fraterville Wye Do you know that the Wye Community is named after the River Wye in Wales? Coal Creek

Rees R. Thomas, who was born in Carmarthen, South Wales www.coalcreekaml.

5 Field trip with Briceville Elementary School students to see the headstone of Henry Howard Wiley, a founder of CCMM, where we also found the headstone of Rees R. Thomas, who was born in Carmarthen, South Wales According to legend, Carmarthen was the home of Merlin from King Arthur s court.

6 According to Dr. Eirug Davies of Harvard University, Welsh miners came to East Tennessee to escape persecution in Great Britain: Welsh miners from 10 states competed in cultural festivals in Knoxville in 1890 and Chattanooga in 1891, which became known as the Dixie Eisteddfod.

The Welsh moved to other mines from Jellico to Soddy/Sale Creek including Fraterville, Briceville, and

7 Despite their instrumental role in helping East Tennessee rebuild after the Civil War, the Welsh lost their jobs at the KICC Mine in 1877 during a strike and were replaced by convict labor. The Welsh moved to other mines from Jellico to Soddy/Sale Creek including Fraterville, Briceville, and Oliver Springs thus starting a Welsh apprenticeship miner training program, teaching native Tennesseans new job skills.

By the 1890s, convict leasing had become corrupt to the point where young black men were being arrested for petty crimes and sent to work in coal mines it was a precursor to Jim Crow Laws Coal Creek

8 By the 1890s, convict leasing had become corrupt to the point where young black men were being arrested for petty crimes and sent to work in coal mines it was a precursor to Jim Crow Laws Coal Creek Scholars from ACHS used prison records to document the names of 131 convict miners, predominantly African Americans, who died in the KICC Mine from 1881 to 1892 and are buried in Convict Miners Cemetery in the Wye Community.

9 Meeting of miners and business leaders at Thistle Switch in July 1891 to plot a course of action to end convict leasing after the Tennessee Coal Mining Company (TCMC) replaced striking miners with convicts at its Tennessee Mine in Briceville. Eugene Merrill David R. Thomas Park Renore Four African American miners with backs to camera (beneficiaries of a Welsh apprenticeship miner training program )

10 Col. Keller Anderson, Commander of Fort Anderson on Militia Hill Lt. Perry Fyffe, Second in Command at Fort Anderson on Militia Hill Convicts returned to Briceville after first release, accompanied by Tennessee National Guard

11 Test Question: What was Coal Creek s connection to the outlaw Jesse James? Henry Baker, who rode with the James Gang, was later arrested in Tennessee and served time working in the KICC convict mine in Coal Creek. He was one of the convicts marched by miners to the Southern Railway Depot in Coal Creek in July 1891 and sent by train to Knoxville. He escaped by jumping from the train In February 1892, TCMC President B. A. Jenkins removed convicts from his company s mine in Briceville and sold stock in the company to its former miners. Why did he do that? He was vilified in the writings of his Welsh countrymen for using convict labor...

12 Convicts remained at the KICC Mine, so the Tennessee National Guard stayed at Fort Anderson on Militia Hill.

13 Meeting of lodge brothers both soldiers and miners at Coal Creek Opera House

14 In August 1892, hostilities escalated when miners laid siege to Fort Anderson, until Gov. Buck Buchanan sent in the remainder of the Tennessee National Guard with more heavy artillery to overwhelm the miners it was an election year!

15 Coal Creek miners lost the final battle, but won the war when newly elected Gov. Peter Turney convinced the legislature to appropriate money to build Brushy Mountain State Prison, Coal Mine, and Coke Ovens, thus eliminating the need for convict leasing by replacing that revenue stream Unlike the convict lease system, the state operated mine provided financial incentive to sustain safe working conditions for the convict miners, even though it still competed with private industry. The Brushy Mountain Mine continued to yield substantial profits for the state each year until it closed in Suggested eleventh grade project: Hold a debate by representatives of four stakeholder groups: paid miners, mine owners, state officials, and convict miners

16 From History Channel program Chain Gangs: Prison and labor reform movements of the 1890s saw no end in sight for the corrupt convict lease system in the South until miners from Coal Creek took up arms against the practice. So, why did it happen in Coal Creek? The Welsh saw the convict lease system as akin to the New South Wales prison colony David Richards story David R. Thomas David Richards Joseph Richards Philip Francis Welsh mining communities were located in each area involved in the labor struggle Coal Creek/Briceville, Oliver Springs, Tracy City, and Whitwell/Inman 6 November 1891 article from The Chattanooga Times: During the meeting of the Welsh Eisteddfod in Chattanooga, a secret meeting was held by the miners present, and the convict question discussed. It now transpires that the action of the Briceville men was endorsed, and Tracy City and Whitwell given to understand that they would receive all necessary assistance. It was decided that as soon as Tennessee was rid of convict miners, Alabama men would be assisted in reducing the stockade and prison at Pratt mines

Major Eldad Cicero Camp came to Knoxville during the Civil War and stayed, recognizing the potential to develop the area s rich

He was an attorney and owner of Coal Creek Coal Company s Fraterville and Thistle Mines, becoming one of the richest men in

Camp s home, Greystone Mansion, was built during the Gilded Age and now houses the studios of WATE TV in Knoxville.

17 Major Eldad Cicero Camp came to Knoxville during the Civil War and stayed, recognizing the potential to develop the area s rich natural resources. He was an attorney and owner of Coal Creek Coal Company s Fraterville and Thistle Mines, becoming one of the richest men in Knoxville and an important philanthropist Example for eighth graders of a Northern entrepreneur (carpetbagger). Camp s home, Greystone Mansion, was built during the Gilded Age and now houses the studios of WATE TV in Knoxville. As a side note, Major Camp killed Confederate Col. Henry Ashby in a duel in 1868 on Main Street in Knoxville. In 1869, President Grant appointed Major Camp a U.S. District Attorney. What was the motivation of the Coal Creek miners and Northern entrepreneurs like Major Camp?

18 How did President Grant justify Camp s appointment?

19 Life was good after the Coal Creek War as illustrated by the Odd Fellow Opera House, which was built by miners in Briceville in 1896 to rival the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton.

But on Monday, May 19, 1902, the mines grew still when the Fraterville Mine exploded, killing all 216 of its miners. It remains the worst disaster in the history of mining in the South.

20 But on Monday, May 19, 1902, the mines grew still when the Fraterville Mine exploded, killing all 216 of its miners. It remains the worst disaster in the history of mining in the South. Many of the miners from the village of brothers (Fraterville) were veterans of the Coal Creek War. Friends and relatives gather to await word of the miners at the entrance to the Thistle Mine where many of the bodies were brought to the surface.

retired three months before it exploded in 1902.

.. He provided testimony at the inquest after the disaster, which he began by saying, I started to work the mines when my daddy

21 David R. Thomas lost his job at the KICC Mine to convicts in 1877, but stayed in Coal Creek to work in the Fraterville Mine from which he retired three months before it exploded in This book tells how the Welsh helped develop Tennessee s fledgling iron, coal, zinc, and copper industries after the Civil War... He provided testimony at the inquest after the disaster, which he began by saying, I started to work the mines when my daddy (Rees R. Thomas) carried me on his back. Example for fifth graders of why immigrants viewed America as the land of opportunity His greatgrandson became a renowned Knoxville surgeon. and how Coal Creek miners preserved Welsh literature for posterity in the last half of the 19 th century, while assimilating into American society.

22 From DVD produced by Coal Creek Scholar Andy Harness, ACHS Class of 2004 Do you know that Anderson County Mayor Terry (Phillips) Frank is the daughter and granddaughter of Tennessee coal miners?

23 Oh, God for one more breathe Jacob Vowell s farewell letter to his wife Ellen and children All 10 farewell letters are about God and family Is this indicative of life s priorities in 1902? Are life s priorities different today?

Overnight, Fraterville became the village of sisters.

24 According to a granddaughter of Fraterville miner David Dezern, The women in our family are known for their strength, a trait we inherited from Mother Dezern. Overnight, Fraterville became the village of sisters. Those widows rebuilt from the ashes, allowing the area to regain its position as the most populated and prosperous part of Anderson County.

25 Major Camp s son George, a beneficiary of a Welsh apprenticeship miner training program, later became superintendent of Fraterville and Thistle Mines KICC MINE

exploded. The effort at Thistle was done to draw out afterdamp (i.e. poisonous gases that form after an explosion) from the Cross Mountain Mine.

26 Cross Mountain Mine The fan at the adjacent Thistle Mine where George Camp was superintendent, normally operated as a force fan, but its direction was reversed in an attempt to induce ventilation after the Cross Mountain Mine exploded. The effort at Thistle was done to draw out afterdamp (i.e. poisonous gases that form after an explosion) from the Cross Mountain Mine. It worked, as evidenced by all the rats in the Thistle Mine being killed by afterdamp.

Engineers and apparatus crews from the U.

27 58 hours after the explosion, rescuers found a door open at the 18 Left entry that said, Don t shut this door, men in 16 Left. Engineers and apparatus crews from the U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) led the rescue effort at the Cross Mountain Mine

28 Rescuers found that barricade walls had been built with slate and straw between 16 Left and 17 Left entries. They tore down the barricade wall and tested the air with one of their canaries. Headlines the next day read, Five alive in Cross Mountain Mine. From DVD produced by Coal Creek Scholar Andy Harness, ACHS Class of 2004 The next time you hear the phrase, A canary in a coal mine, you ll know its origin. Retake of the famous 1911 photograph, this time with rescuers wearing their USBM approved hard hats.

S. coal miners is now 99% lower than it was back then.

29 Cross Mountain was the first successful mine rescue, first use of canaries to test air quality, and first use of self contained breathing equipment by U.S. Bureau of Mines engineers and apparatus crews Annual U.S. coal production has doubled over the past century, yet the fatality rate for U.S. coal miners is now 99% lower than it was back then. That trend toward safer mines began with the rescue at the Cross Mountain Mine in 1911 a major achievement stemming from the Progressive Era.

30 As Briceville students say, This is the best field trip ever! CCWF volunteers serve as tour guides on field trips to historic sites associated with the Coal Creek Labor Saga. Four sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places

31 Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative Restoring the American chestnut to the Appalachian Mountains on mined land prepared by the Forestry Reclamation Approach Where there be mountains, there be chestnuts. (Hernando De Soto, 1542) Details can be found at

32 The Tennessee Senate uses Coal Creek Scholars from ACHS as role models for other students in the state to emulate.

33 Anderson County High School Scholarship Award Ceremony

34 Coal Creek Scholars at 13th Annual Scholars Day Event Ten years ago, I sat in this seat, and if I can go to college, so can you. barryt@geoe.com

Dear Ralls County Members and Friends;

Dear Ralls County Members and Friends; Volume 5 - Issue 3 May 2006 RALLS COUNTY MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY P.O. BOX 182 CENTER MISSOURI 63436 http://www.rootsweb.com/~morchs/ Ralls County Historical Museum and Library 120 East Main Street,