Barthell, Kentucky

Coordinates: 36°41′11″N 84°31′31″W / 36.68639°N 84.52528°W

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Barthell, Kentucky
Coal town
Barthell Location in Kentucky Show map of Kentucky Barthell Barthell (the United States) Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 36°41′11″N 84°31′31″W / 36.68639°N 84.52528°W / 36.68639; -84.52528
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
County	McCreary
Established	1902
Elevation ^[1]	1,106 ft (337 m)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
GNIS feature ID	510422^[2]
Website	barthellcoalcamp.com

Barthell is a former coal town in McCreary County, Kentucky, United States. It was established in 1902 and was the first of 18 mining camps to be built by the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company. It now serves as an open-air history museum, which is open from April through Thanksgiving.

History

During the 1880s-90s, a large portion of the land surrounding the Big South Fork was purchased by L.E. Bryant who began exploring the deposits of coal. In 1901, Byrant sent his associate, John Toomey, to lumber baron Justus S. Stearns in Michigan and convinced him to invest in the mineral rights of the Big South Fork area. By 1902, Barthell was established and work began in Mine No. 1. The first shipment of coal was delivered from Barthell in 1903 after the completion of the Kentucky and Tennessee Railroad from Stearns. During 1905 and 1906, operations expanded at Barthell with the opening of Mine No. 2.^[3]

From 1923 to 1927, the Bryant lease was fully purchased by the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company. Business boomed even during the height of the Great Depression, with a record monthly coal production of 100,961 tons of coal in January 1930. The onset of World War II further increased coal production at Barthell, requiring the addition of a second railway line.^[3]

The decline of Barthell began in 1943 when the tipple at Mine No. 1 was destroyed by fire and was never rebuilt. Mine No. 1 was also closed shortly after the fire at the tipple. Coal mined from Mine No. 2 was then sent to the tipple at Mine No. 18 at the Blue Heron Mining complex. The dismantling of the coal camp began in 1952 and was completed in 1961.^[3]

In 1984, the Barthell coal camp was purchased by the Koger family, who invested more than $500,000 of their own money into the revitalization of the community. Many of the community's original structures, such as the company store, doctors office, and school house have been renovated and can be toured. Fifteen former coal camp homes have also been renovated and can be rented for overnight stays.^[4]

References

^ "Barthell". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved on 2010-11-28
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Barthell, Kentucky
^ ^a ^b ^c Chronologic History of Barthell Retrieved on 2010-11-28
^ Points of Interest Retrieved on 2010-11-28

External links

Barthell Coal Mining Camp

v t e Municipalities and communities of McCreary County, Kentucky, United States
County seat: Whitley City
CDPs	Pine Knot Stearns Whitley City	Location of McCreary County, Kentucky
Other communities	Barthell Blue Heron Comargo Co-Operative Hill Top Honeybee Marshes Siding Oz Parkers Lake Revelo Sawyer Strunk White Oak Junction Wiborg Worley Yamacraw	Location of McCreary County, Kentucky
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v t e Museums in Kentucky
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History	Adsmore Ashland Bardstown Historical Museum Barthell Coal Mining Camp Big Sandy Heritage Center Blue Heron Coal Mining Camp Bluegrass Heritage Museum Civil War Museum Coal Miners' Museum David A. Zegeer Coal-Railroad Museum Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum Federal Hill The Filson Historical Society F.M. Stafford House Frazier History Museum Harland Sanders Café and Museum Highlands Museum and Discovery Center Historic Locust Grove Hunt–Morgan House Jeffersontown Historical Museum Kentucky Coal Museum Lexington History Center Magoffin County Pioneer Village and Museum Mary Todd Lincoln House McCreary County Museum Mountain Homeplace Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History Portland Museum Riverside, The Farnsley–Moremen Landing Samuel May House Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History Thomas Edison House
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