Before the Great Depression, over 90% of miners in southern West Virginia lived in company-owned towns without public services. Miners faced poor working conditions and often clashed with coal companies, especially over forming unions like the United Mine Workers of America. Major strikes and violent events, like the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike and the Battle of Blair Mountain, happened between 1912 and 1921.

Coal companies, trying to keep costs down, fought hard against unions, and usually had the government's support. This changed during the Great Depression, when the coal industry collapsed and a new law gave workers the right to join unions. After that, most companies stopped controlling miners’ lives as much, sold off houses, and ended services in the company towns.