| BP-290766-23 | Public Programs: Historic Places: Planning | West Virginia Mine Wars Museum | Courage in the Hollers: Interpreting Coal Miners’ March and Battle on Blair Mountain | 5/1/2023 - 1/31/2025 | $74,991.00 | Mackenzie | | New Walker | | | | West Virginia Mine Wars Museum | Matewan | WV | 25678-0764 | USA | 2023 | Labor History | Historic Places: Planning | Public Programs | 74991 | 0 | 74991 | 0 | Planning a multi-format interpretive tour of the 1921 Coal Mine Wars in West Virginia.
The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum, a community-based interpretive center in southern West Virginia, will plan for the multi-format project Courage in the Hollers: Interpreting Coal Miners’ March and Battle on Blair Mountain. Consulting with humanities scholars, tourism professionals, designers, descendants, and local landowners, the museum will refine the content, format, and interpretive approach of a 50-mile trail. The Museum will plan for a complementary set of publicly available resources in four distinct formats, tailored for different audiences and levels of interest: 1) interpretive installations at key sites on the march route and battlefield; 2) a website presenting a virtual Tour and Discussion Guide; 3) printed materials that can be mailed to members of the public and distributed at events showcasing history and the humanities; and 4) a digital guide in partnership with Clio, a nationally-recognized, widely-used app for history tours, developed in WV, supported by NEH. |
| BR-307328-26 | Public Programs: Historic Places: Implementation | West Virginia Mine Wars Museum | Courage in the Hollers: Interpreting Coal Miners’ March and Battle on Blair Mountain | 1/1/2026 - 12/31/2026 | $275,000.00 | Mackenzie | | New Walker | | | | West Virginia Mine Wars Museum | Matewan | WV | 25678-0764 | USA | 2025 | Labor History | Historic Places: Implementation | Public Programs | 275000 | 0 | 275000 | 0 |
The Museum will use an implementation grant to launch the third phase of Courage in the Hollers: Interpreting Coal Miners’ March and Battle on Blair Mountain (working title), a two-year public humanities project. The initiative explores three key themes: the scope of democratic rights, "Uneasy Solidarity: Challenging Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Divides," and "Public Memory: Who Gets to Tell the Story." The project will bring the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain—the largest armed labor uprising in U.S. history—to life with free interpretive materials and permanent public installations. Focusing on miners’ defense of union recognition and civil liberties, it will examine their collective efforts to overcome racial, ethnic, and gender divisions. Spanning 50 miles across four counties, it features physical and digital installations, including historical signage, audio posts, an interactive website, and Clio app entries, ensuring Blair Mountain's legacy remains publicly accessible. |