From Agriculture to Mining

Shortly after European explorers arrived, permanent settlers began using the Indian Path to enter southern West Virginia, and the first permanent settlers reached Paint Creek in the early 19th century. Agriculture dominated life for these first settlers in the rugged mountains: a few farmers prospered with large landholdings, but most struggled to support their families through rough subsistence farming. The pastoral character of the more successful farming communities remains visible along Paint Creek in Sweeneyburg, Maynor, Cirtsville, and Lively. When railroads arrived and opened access to vast coal deposits, many farmers left the plow for work in the mines, while only the most successful farmers remained in agriculture and lived relatively affluently compared with miners in the coal camps. Although mining was difficult, steady income and access to company stores made the change worthwhile for many, and Paint Creek quickly shifted from scattered farms and homesteads to a landscape of coal camps and steam engines. Agriculture nevertheless remained central to miners' lives. Many immigrant miners had farmed in their homelands and brought those skills with them, making gardens common in the coal camps. Miners' wives, lacking other local industry, often tended gardens and kept animals with their children. Gardening protected families during inconsistent employment, economic depressions, and strikes in the coalfields, reduced dependence on company stores, and helped avoid debt. Some miners also used produce from their gardens to make homebrew for supplemental income.

West Virginia · United States