Kentucky Coal Mining Museum - Benham, Kentucky

Kentucky Coal Mining Museum - Benham, Kentucky

Life for the coal miner has never been easy. They have worked hard and in perilous conditions from the early years of the settling of this county (and other countries too.)  But here in Benham is a museum that will bring to life one aspect of the life that you may not have given much thought to, the company store.  The museum building was the second building built by the company to house a company commissary. The first one, built on the same site, was a wooden structure destroyed by fire in the mid-teen's. The concrete and masonry structure replaced the burned building in 1923. 

The museum is located the old commissary built by International Harvester in the 1920s, the museum features four stories of exhibits on the history of mining and the life of the coal miner. The museum spans 4 floors of exhibit space with a diverse collection of artifacts showing the early years of industrial coal mining in Kentucky.  The company often owned everything that the miners and their families would need to survive.  They owned the houses the miners lived in, the company store where they had to buy their supplies, the company hospital where they got some treatments and more.  The miners used the company script to pay their way.  In order to get silver money a miner got 85 cents in silver for every dollar in script.  The song with the quote "owed his soul to the company store" was often more true than not.

You will be able to see the floor plan of a typical underground coal mine.  The display shows all aspects of a coal mine including the tipple and other mining activities. (Tipple is an apparatus for unloading freight cars by tipping them.)

Have your picture taken next to the two-ton block of coal that was specially cut for the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum.  The kids will enjoy the chance to climb on the 1940's model electric locomotive that was used to haul miners inside the mine.

You will be able to view the process detailing the formation of coal by looking at several visuals and fossil displays and watch a narrated video of the early coal mining days in Benham and Lynch.

You will see displays including items from the company hospital, early mining tools, things from the commissary and even a miner’s home.  There is a photographic display documenting the history of Benham mining accidents, new buildings, people and more.

You will want to go to Portal 31 in nearby Lynch too.  Here you can enjoy a walking tour of one of the largest coal loading facilities in the world.  You will be able to take an actual tour of a coal mine by rail car.  You will adorn the traditional protective gear of the coal miner and see the animated exhibits along the tour.  Outside Portal #31 stands a black granite monument in tribute to long time president of the United Mine Workers John L. Lewis (there is a museum dedicated to him in the small town of Lucas, Iowa) and a memorial to U.S. Steel District #1 miners who died in mining accidents. The site also features a 1920s lamphouse, bathhouse, L&N train depot and loadout system.

While at the museum you will also see a tribute to "A Coal Miner's Daughter", Loretta Lynn. There is an original portrait of her with her husband along with numerous other original works of art detailing the life of Kentucky's famous lady.  This display is on the third floor of the museum and has a collection of her personal items for you to see.

Directions:
Take I-75 to exit 29, Corbin, KY. Travel east on US 25 E South. You will be traveling on the Cumberland Gap Parkway. Take US 25E South to Pineville, KY. Turn left at the stoplight onto Highway 119. You will be traveling on Kingdom Come Parkway to Harlan, KY. Turn left at the stoplight to continue on Hwy 119 towards Cumberland, KY. Take the ramp towards Hwy 160 to travel to Benham and Lynch, KY. The museum will be on the left side of the street in downtown Benham.

Hours of Operation: Monday - Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Sunday: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Admission:
$5.00 - Adults
$4.00 - Senior Citizens
$2.50 - Children/Students

After hours and group tours
are available by reservation
Call 606-848-1530

Email: kycoalmuseum@earthlink.net.

Location: Benham, Kentucky