July 2013: Corps beings new process:
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From August 30 to Sept. 4, 1921, over 10,000 miners armed with rifles and pistols marched from coal camps in the central part of the state. The miners sought the right to be paid by the hour and not by the ton, a 5-day work week, and fair and equal pay. They were stopped by a small army of heavily armed coal mine guards at Blair Mountain. During the five days of battle, the miners and company guards fought across the mountainside. Thirty men died.
From August 30 to Sept. 4, 1921, over 10,000 miners armed with rifles and pistols marched from coal camps in the central part of the state. The miners sought the right to be paid by the hour and not by the ton, a 5-day work week, and fair and equal pay. They were stopped by a small army of heavily armed coal mine guards at Blair Mountain. During the five days of battle, the miners and company guards fought across the mountainside. Thirty men died.
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The incident was triggered by a series of grievances, foremost of which was the assassination of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Hatfield Sheriff Sid Hatfield] by a coal mine guard on the steps of a McDowell County Courthouse on August 1, 1921. The battle ended when US troops arrived at the site on Sept. 4, 1921. In the aftermath of the battle, over 1,200 indictments were handed down, but juries refused to convict labor leaders. <ref> Kovarik, Bill.[
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"Baseball versus big coal: How the game ended the West Virginia coal mine wars of 1922,"] Appalachian Voice, March 2008. </ref>
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The incident was triggered by a series of grievances, foremost of which was the assassination of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Hatfield Sheriff Sid Hatfield] by a coal mine guard on the steps of a McDowell County Courthouse on August 1, 1921. The battle ended when US troops arrived at the site on Sept. 4, 1921. In the aftermath of the battle, over 1,200 indictments were handed down, but juries refused to convict labor leaders. <ref> Kovarik, Bill.[
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/ "Baseball versus big coal: How the game ended the West Virginia coal mine wars of 1922,"] Appalachian Voice, March 2008. </ref>
==Renewed Controversy==
==Renewed Controversy==
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===October 2012: Appeal rejected===
===October 2012: Appeal rejected===
In October 2012, a federal judge dismissed an appeal by the environmental and historic preservation organizations seeking to restore Blair Mountain's historic designation. The judge denied the plaintiffs legal standing to sue on the grounds that any injury (i.e., destruction of the battlefield) resulting from that decision was “purely conjectural.”<ref>Matt Wasson, [http://ecowatch.org/2012/blair-mountain/ "Big Coal Wins Latest Battle to Blast Historic Blair Mountain,"] EcoWatch, Oct. 9, 2012.</ref>
In October 2012, a federal judge dismissed an appeal by the environmental and historic preservation organizations seeking to restore Blair Mountain's historic designation. The judge denied the plaintiffs legal standing to sue on the grounds that any injury (i.e., destruction of the battlefield) resulting from that decision was “purely conjectural.”<ref>Matt Wasson, [http://ecowatch.org/2012/blair-mountain/ "Big Coal Wins Latest Battle to Blast Historic Blair Mountain,"] EcoWatch, Oct. 9, 2012.</ref>
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===July 2013: Corps beings new process===
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In July of 2013, the Corps of Engineers issued a notice of a Programmatic Assessment, noting that the site was "eligible" for listing under the National Register of Historic Places. <ref>Ken Ward, Jr., [http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2013/07/15/corps-seeks-comments-on-blair-mountain-mining/ "Corps seeks comments on Blair Mountain mining,"] Coal Tattoo, July 15, 2013. </ref> The process could lead to mining at the site, or, alternately, could lead the Corps to determine that the site has historic value.
==Mining at Blair Mountain==
==Mining at Blair Mountain==
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* 2010, September: Four groups file a federal lawsuit to return the site to the National Register of Historic Places. The Sierra Club, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the Friends of Blair Mountain and the West Virginia Labor History Association. The suit alleges that the de-listing “was arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to the National Park Service’s own regulations.”
* 2010, September: Four groups file a federal lawsuit to return the site to the National Register of Historic Places. The Sierra Club, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, the Friends of Blair Mountain and the West Virginia Labor History Association. The suit alleges that the de-listing “was arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to the National Park Service’s own regulations.”
* 2011, June 6 - 11: March on Blair Mountain organized by coalition of Appalachian and national environmental organizations.
* 2011, June 6 - 11: March on Blair Mountain organized by coalition of Appalachian and national environmental organizations.
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* 2012, Oct 2: Federal judge rules against Friends of Blair Mountain and says the de-listing will stand.
==References==
==References==