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Daily Work in the Mines
Work in the mines could be extremely difficult and dangerous, with workers often carving out large chunks of coal with simple picks and hauling them to a mine cart in order to return their bounty to the surface. Such work was often arduous and over time could wear the body down as miners breathed in coal dust and other hazards.
Besides the difficult work, miners also had to look out for cave ins, which could happen unexpectedly and could crush a man, bury them alive, or leave teams trapped behind walls of rock with limited amounts of air. On top of this was the risk of releasing poisonous gasses. This was on top of a limited supply of fresh air, as deeper mines could have far more carbon dioxide produced by the many workers that crowded out what fresh air made it from the surface.
Despite the difficulties and dangers, many men would enter the mines daily in order to earn their pay and provide for their families.
Housed inside the museum are numerous artifacts that show the tools that accompanied the manual labor required to chip out the coal. Within the museum one room is dedicated to the tools, the methods as well as sample coal mine entrance for the visitor to experience.
The visitor will see pictures of the different coal mines, a chart indicating the location of the mines and photos of workers, employers, and family groups that relied on the coal mines for work and wages.
Miner Tools
Miner Tools
Miners used a variety of tools to accomplish their work, from the humble iron pick and shovel to heavy machinery used to both collect and haul the coal on its journey from underground and into the train.
"Canary in the Coalmine" emerged from a real practice of sending in canaries as a means to test for gasses or other dangers, as if such perils were present, the caged bird would either make a great deal of noise when sent near the seem...or would stop making noises altogether rather quickly.
Inspectors traveled throughout the state inspecting the times for safety. Many mines passed safety tests but to the casual observer the dangerous workplace produced black lung and other lifelong illnesses.
The Blacksmith Shop
Many of the tools used by the miners were made on location by a local hired blacksmith. Picks, axes, wagons, coal car tracks, were all tools used for work in the mines..
Mining Locations and Shipment
Novinger's Billy Creek Coal mine, once part of a wider mining network that spanned the Ninevah Township, was the last Coal mine in Missouri. Each mine extracted coal that was brought to the station for shipment, often simply letting the product slide out through large doors and into the train carts.
The museum has many photos and drawings of the numerous mines throughout the area. Some family groups had their own mines, while others were mined for coal to sell and transported out of the area on the train network.
Miner's Union
Miner's Union
Many of Novinger's Coal miner's were members of the Coal Miner's Union.
Visitors will see miner union documents, lunch boxes used by actual coal miners, time sheets, the whistle used to announce the begining and end of the day. Some coal from the Billy Creek Mine may be viewed in a display case .
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