The Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley was one of the first—and remains one of the only—places on earth where visitors can venture inside a former working coal mine and discover what underground mining was like in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.

In 1850, John A. Phillips purchased 50 acres of land at the current mine site from city founder Alfred Beckley. The Phillips family created a farm before noticing an exposed coal seam on the property. Coal operators later labeled this the Beckley Seam. By the 1880s, the family had constructed a drift mine to extract coal for domestic uses such as heating and cooking.

By the turn of the 20^th century, the Cranberry Fuel Company had purchased the Phillips’ farm. The Beckley Seam developed rapidly due to its height (up to 12 feet in places) as well as its coal’s minimal impurities and high carbon content. Cranberry Fuel’s Sprague Mine was opened in early 1906. It was named after the company town built to house the mine’s workforce, itself named after industrialist C. H. Sprague. By 1908, the mine possessed roughly 4,000 feet of passageways, had three separate entrances, and was worked by a team of 50 men and 15 mules. Although geologic hazards from abundant water to bothersome slate produced a dangerous environment, no major mining disaster occurred during the mine’s operational lifespan.

Sprague Mine’s coal sped southward on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway to Hampton, Virginia. Once there, it typically served as fuel for naval steamships or was shipped to the northeastern United States for heating purposes. Sprague Mine operated over a considerable period compared to many short-lived operations in southern West Virginia. The New River Company closed the mine in 1953 before selling the land to the city of Beckley for development into a park.

Workers building New River Park uncovered the historic entrance to the Phillips-Sprague Mine, as it became known, buried underneath a slag heap. Beckley Street Commissioner D. Elmer Warden hatched the idea to remove the pile, restore 900 feet of passageway, and open the mine as an educational tourist attraction. After nearly a decade, Beckley’s Exhibition Coal Mine opened to the public on July 23, 1962.

Visitors enter the mine on a mantrip at its historic entrance. The interpretive tour is led by retired miners who blend their personal expertise with historical knowledge. Interpretation of the site spans a period beginning with small-scale mining by families in the 19^th century, through the hand-loading industrial era of the Sprague Mine in the early 1900s, and ending with mechanized mining in the mid-20^th century.

Additional passages were restored in the 1970s, extending the tour to 1,500 feet of rehabilitated passageway. Communities donated historic buildings to create a village around the mine that provides an example of what life in a company town might have appeared like during West Virginia’s mining heyday. A visitor center and gift shop is named for former Congressman Nick Joe Rahall. The same complex also includes the Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia.

The Phillips-Sprague Mine was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. Today, the Exhibition Coal Mine draws curious tourists from around the world. It has been featured in documentaries, feature films such as Matewan, and even music videos.

Located at 409 South Kanawha Street in Beckley, the site is open daily April 1 – November 1 with an admission charge. Group tours are available upon request.

Exhibition Coal Mine website.