Coal is foundational for West Virginia. It not only underlies the state’s undulating topography in more than 100 seams, but mining of the energy-rich bituminous coal has also characterized the livelihood of generations of West Virginians, shaped the state’s heritage, and furnished its economic growth since 1810. The commercial coal industry began its first relative boom in 1883 as major rail lines were completed and the newly founded power industry began to burgeon. Since then, West Virginia has harvested 14.7 billion tons of coal in cycles of dizzying growth and decline, fuel that has founded a substantial share of the nation’s economic growth.
