Update on Efforts to Preserve Blair Mountain from Further Damage

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and the Sierra Club have learned that archeological sites on West Virginias historic Blair Mountain are being destroyed.

The legendary 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain was a clash of 10,000 people, with coal miners rising up against coal barons in defense of their right to unionize and exercise their civil liberties. It was the largest armed insurrection since the Civil War and the biggest labor struggle in American history. In 2006, Blair Mountain was listed on the National Trusts list of Americas 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

On December 30, 2009, the National Park Service removed the Blair Mountain Battlefield from the National Register of Historic Places, after coal industry lawyers argued fiercely for the de-listing. The NPS said the de-listing was necessary due to a procedural error in calculating the percentage of property owners who objected to the sites listing.

Recently, archeologists provided proof that localized but highly detrimental disturbances have occurred at five locations in the southern part of Blair Mountain the Blair Gap area.

As bulldozers from an unknown source destroyed these archeological sites, the National Trust, OVEC and Sierra Club filed a petition with the National Park Service to re-list Blair Mountain on the National Register of Historic Places. In late July, the petition was denied. We are examining all options, including litigation.

"Preserving Blair Mountain is a priority for me because its a matter of respect for West Virginians, especially those of us who grew up in the coalfields," said OVEC board member Regina Hendrix, who has been active in the Blair Mountain preservation efforts for many years.

We also appreciate the dedication of OVEC member Brandon Nida, a PhD candidate in archeology at the University of California-Berkeley, who has spent the last few years researching and working to preserve Blair Mountain.

Learn more at www.friendsofblairmountain.org and www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQfMfG_tpsA.