Coal Production: Narratives of the Appalachian landscape

Appalachia has a long and controversial history of being invented, mapped and named by coal and coal mining. In order to extract coal, narratives mapped the region, wherein, “the coal industry’s priorities have determined the local economy, culture and geography” (Scott 137). Contention around this history and mapping continues among scholars, artists, environmentalists, industry and others about this history of coal as Appalachia transitions into a contemporary “post-coal” landscape. As the physical landscape—which has been scarred and manipulated by the coal industry—changes, so, too, does the cultural landscape. How is the history and contemporary moment of Appalachia told in this new cultural landscape? There are extremes of past and future Appalachia(s) represented and promoted as a demarcation of place. This paper investigates these representations through reenactments and tourism in the coalfields of West Virginia as promoters of both past and future narratives. Specifically, I examine the Exhibition Coal Mine, Burning Rock Outdoor Adventure and the Matewan Massacre reenactment as producers of coal narratives and how they operate in a “post-coal” landscape. What role do these public tours offer to the narrative of Appalachia and to the future of a “post-coal” Appalachia? Scott, Rebecca R. Removing Mountains : Extracting Nature and Identity in the Appalachian Coalfields. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 2010. Print