Barthell, Kentucky facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Barthell, Kentucky
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Coal town
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 Barthell, Kentucky
Location in Kentucky
Barthell, Kentucky
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Kentucky |
| County | McCreary |
| Established | 1902 |
| Elevation | 1,106 ft (337 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 510422 |
| Website | barthellcoalcamp.com |
Barthell is a special place in McCreary County, Kentucky, USA. It used to be a busy coal town. This means it was a town built around a coal mine. It started in 1902. It was the very first of 18 mining camps created by the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company. Today, Barthell is an open-air museum. You can visit it from April until Thanksgiving to learn about its history.
History
Early Days of Coal Mining
In the late 1800s, a man named L.E. Bryant bought a lot of land near the Big South Fork. He started looking for coal there. In 1901, Bryant sent his friend, John Toomey, to meet Justus S. Stearns. Stearns was a rich lumber businessman in Michigan. Toomey convinced Stearns to invest in the coal in the Big South Fork area.
By 1902, the town of Barthell was officially started. Work began right away in Mine No. 1. The first coal was shipped from Barthell in 1903. This happened after the Kentucky and Tennessee Railroad was finished. In 1905 and 1906, more mining began at Barthell. Mine No. 2 was opened, making the operations even bigger.
Boom and Decline
From 1923 to 1927, the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company bought all of Bryant's land. The coal business did very well. Even during the Great Depression, when many people struggled, Barthell was busy. In January 1930, they produced a record 100,961 tons of coal in one month! When World War II started, even more coal was needed. This led to adding a second railway line to Barthell.
The town of Barthell began to decline in 1943. The "tipple" at Mine No. 1 was destroyed by fire. A tipple is a structure used to load coal onto trains. It was never rebuilt. Mine No. 1 also closed soon after the fire. Coal from Mine No. 2 was then sent to a different tipple at the Blue Heron Mining complex. The coal camp started to be taken apart in 1952. This process was finished by 1961.
A New Beginning
In 1984, the Koger family bought the Barthell coal camp. They spent over $500,000 of their own money to bring the community back to life. Many of the original buildings have been fixed up. You can now tour places like the company store, the doctor's office, and the old school house.
Fifteen of the former coal camp homes have also been renovated. People can even rent these homes for overnight stays. Barthell is now a great place to visit and learn about what life was like in a coal town.
