Attention !!! HillBilly Highway Riders…“the Movie” Matewan

[LadyDraco]

Matewan…  will be on  Dirtv . Channel  540  @  1:50- 4:05  Today...
It stars Chris Cooper (Lonesome Dove Fame)

This is the story of the area that we will be riding in for the Return to the  HillBilly Highways…
It tell’s you the story of the coal minders who died in a Massacre in 1920’s  in Matewan WVa..
This is where on the courthouse steps of Welch WV. .Sheriff  Sid Hatfield was gun down and murdered, by the Coal Mine Detectives…

Just a heads up in case you feel like seeing it…And know a little bit of The History of where we will be traveling ...

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Matewan…  will be on  Dirtv . Channel  540  @  1:50- 4:05  Today...
It stars Chris Cooper (Lonesome Dove Fame)

This is the story of the area that we will be riding in for the Return to the  HillBilly Highways…
It tell’s you the story of the coal minders who died in a Massacre in 1920’s  in Matewan WVa..
This is where on the courthouse steps of Welch WV. .Sheriff  Sid Hatfield was gun down and murdered, by the Coal Mine Detectives…

Just a heads up in case you feel like seeing it…And know a little bit of The History of where we will be traveling ...

Also the land of Hatfield–McCoy.................Watching now    Thanks for the heads up Tracy  

Matewan, West Virginia
—  Town  —

Matewan, West Virginia.
Nickname(s): Bloody Mingo

Location of Matewan, West Virginia
Coordinates: 37°37′23″N 82°9′59″W / 37.62306°N 82.16639°W / 37.62306; -82.16639Coordinates: 37°37′23″N 82°9′59″W / 37.62306°N 82.16639°W / 37.62306; -82.16639
Country United States
State West Virginia
County Mingo
Area
 • Total 0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
 • Land 0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 705 ft (215 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 498
 • Density 989.2/sq mi (381.9/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 25678
Area code(s) 304
FIPS code 54-52324[1]
GNIS feature ID 1542862[2]

Matewan is a town in Mingo County, West Virginia, USA at the confluence of the Tug Fork River and Mate Creek. The population was 498 at the 2000 census. The Norfolk Southern Railway's Pocahontas District runs through the town.



 
Aerial view of Matewan, West VirginiaAs of the census[1] of 2000, there were 498 people, 253 households, and 124 families residing in the town. The population density was 989.2 inhabitants per square mile (384.6/km²). There were 277 housing units at an average density of 550.2 per square mile (213.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.78% White, 3.61% African American, 1.00% Native American, 0.20% Asian, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.00% of the population.

There were 253 households out of which 18.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.6% were non-families. 48.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.97 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the town the population was spread out with 17.7% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $13,529, and the median income for a family was $27,188. Males had a median income of $25,500 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,586. About 16.8% of families and 31.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.0% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.

History and culture
A section of the floodwall along the Tug Fork in Matewan, West Virginia, constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, depicts the Hatfield-McCoy feud.The town was named after Matteawan (now called Beacon), a town in Dutchess County, Upstate New York. Matteawan was the home town of Erskine Hazard, a civil engineer from the Norfolk and Western Railway who laid out the town in 1890 and drew up the first map of the new community. Local residents, however, changed the spelling and pronunciation.[4]

Attempts to unionize by coal miners in 1920 led to the Battle of Matewan between miners and Baldwin-Felts detectives, which was the inspiration for the 1987 movie Matewan. The town's history is on display at the town's Web site, which has a small museum.

Attractions
Because of its rich history (Hatfield–McCoy feud and Matewan Massacre), the center of the town was designated the Matewan Historic District, a National Historic Landmark. Interesting sights and tours can be had while visiting the town.

The Hatfield–McCoy Trails opened a trail head in Matewan. Trail Riders can now easily access the trail system while staying in town.

[Bigwolf]

That is a great movie.  I watched it many years ago.  It sure brings home the point of what big business will do if allowed to.

Wolf

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

That is a great movie.  I watched it many years ago.  It sure brings home the point of what big business will do if allowed to.

Wolf

You can thank the union worker those days are no more... It will return to that as the union workforce lose more ground everyday to cheap labor and Mexican's 

[Bigwolf]

You can thank the union worker those days are no more... It will return to that as the union workforce lose more ground everyday to cheap labor and Mexican's 

Sadly enough Joe, the younger generation does not understand this.  They have no concept of what happened in the coal fields back in those early days.

BTW; LadyDraco, Thank you for posting this info.  It is a great movie that every American should watch.  Maybe then they could vote with a little more attention to the dangers of big bussiness and big government.

Wolf

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

You can thank the union worker those days are no more... It will return to that as the union workforce lose more ground everyday to cheap labor and Mexican's 

Sadly enough Joe, the younger generation does not understand this.  They have no concept of what happened in the coal fields back in those early days.

BTW; LadyDraco, Thank you for posting this info.  It is a great movie that every American should watch.  Maybe then they could vote with a little more attention to the dangers of big bussiness and big government.

Wolf

I agree    Sad thing even some folks our age can't seem to see it coming back 

[Dubsvalk]

My Dad was a union coal miner in West Virginia for 42 years.  He absolutely loved what he did and looked forward to going into the deep mines every day he worked.  He said many times that the union made a huge contribution making the coal operators pay fair wages and make conditions safer for the miner.  He also said that the union became greedy and involved with organized crime and was the ruin of mining for both, the miner and the company.  No one should be forced to join a union to have a job.  Maitwan is a great movie about a just and honorable stand for what is right in America.  It was a bloody battle and was won at a high price.  Nothing is free.
Dubs

[DirtyDan]

filmed in............



WV

[Bigwolf]

He said many times that the union made a huge contribution making the coal operators pay fair wages and make conditions safer for the miner.  He also said that the union became greedy and involved with organized crime and was the ruin of mining for both, the miner and the company.  No one should be forced to join a union to have a job.  Maitwan is a great movie about a just and honorable stand for what is right in America.  It was a bloody battle and was won at a high price.  Nothing is free.
Dubs

In my experience, That is all true.  I believe the miners got pinched in the middle between big business and big union.  Although I was never a miner, I was a member of that big union and have worked in a few mines.  The only mine that made me truely nervous was the one several miles underground in a 36 inch coal seam and the roof was continually falling just a few yards away from my work area.  They hauled me in and out of there on a 3 wheeled cart flat on my back on the bed of that cart (bed about 4 inches above the floor) with the toes of my boots not all that far from the roof.  I got a real good look at that roof and each time in or out I could see parts of that roof that were in fact no longer roof.......... course I had to turn my head to the side to see that.  My last day there, on the way out, I told the miner with me that If I never got back in that mine it would be way to soon to suit me.  I am glad to have had that experience though.

Wolf

[Dubsvalk]

My dad worked in 6 ft coal in the same mine for 42 years.  It is amazing that they will mine a 24 inch seam of coal.  Although I have been in several coal mines, I never worked in them.  Uncle Sam wanted me to work for him back in 1966 and I never really got back to the coal fields to join my friends who were working in them.
dubs

[Bigwolf]

That 36 inch mine was the lowest coal I was ever in.  Thank god!  At 6' 4" and 190, I doubt I could have moved enough to have accomplished much in anything any lower.  There was a mine in PA that had something like 8 or 9 ft coal but even better, the area I had to work in when there was an underground building.  It was a shaft mine and the building was about a mile back from the shaft.  They had carved out an area there that allowed them to put up block walls and then I beams accross the top with some kind of roof on that.  There were 2 rows of flourescent lights run end to end the length of the building.  The ceiling was about 16 ft high if I remember right and had an overhead crane.  That was the best place I ever worked inside the mines.

Wolf