Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine

History museum · Beckley

Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine

History museum · Beckley

513 Ewart Ave, Beckley, WV 25801

Highlights

This coal heritage destination includes an underground tour of a vintage mine, a museum & gift shop.

513 Ewart Ave, Beckley, WV 25801 Get directions

beckley.org

@atlasobscura

"The Exhibition Coal Mine is an apt name. A historic mine, visitors are invited to come tour the site and learn about its place in West Virginia history. The Phillips-Sprague Mine in Beckley, West Virginia, opened in 1889, but commercial coal mining didn’t begin until 1906. The mine operated for just under 50 years. After it shut down in 1953, the property was sold to the City of Beckley and turned into an educational site. For a small entry fee, automated rides through the mine are available, giving visitors a rare glimpse inside a traditional coal mine. Being able to see how the mine is constructed and laid out is an eye-opening experience, as the darkness and depth are beyond the expectations of even the most realistically-minded tourist. Coal mines no longer operate the way this one did, so not only is it a glimpse into a place many don’t get to go; it’s also a glimpse into a time that has long since passed. Tours are led by veteran miners who can provide firsthand accounts of the daily life and responsibilities of past and present-day miners. In addition to the mine, a number of coal camp buildings have been restored throughout the grounds of the former company town. These include a small home, a church, a doctor’s office, and a schoolhouse, all of which offer a realistic representation of the trappings of life in an early 20th century coal camp." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

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Elizabeth Dawes

Google

This was a great experience! Underground tour lasted about 30 minutes. The retired coal miners were wonderful guides. Admission also includes the coal museum, coal camp, youth museum (Eric Carle) and Mountain homestead. Even better than I expected.

Ryanne Brown

Google

Surprisingly fun and entertaining. We stopped here while visiting Beckley, WV and Sandstone Falls during a day trip. We definitely had a great time. Our guide, was funny and informative. The coal mine cart was very cool. Our 6 year old did have a hard time listening to the stories and information from the 1900's (his words). My mother and father enjoyed the coal town and the historic items/ buildings, reminiscing about their childhood. Our son also enjoyed the youth museum and bonus frontier town. When it says you need 2- 2.5 hours to explore everything that's the minimum. We probably could have spent at least 3.5-4 hours here walking around and exploring. If you have the time I would recommend visiting.

Tara Duff

Google

Our family of five had a wonderful time visiting the Buckley Coal Mine exhibit! The entire experience was both educational and fun. A special shoutout to Chris the Blacksmith, he was not only incredibly talented, but also so engaging with the kids and happy to answer all our questions. The highlight for us was the underground coal mine tour. Our guide, Wilson, was fantastic! He was very personable and full of knowledge. He did such a great job explaining the history and making it come to life in a way that was easy for all of us (kids and adults!) to understand and enjoy. Highly recommend if you're in the area — this stop was definitely worth it!

Calming Winds

Google

Well worth the money for what you get out of it. In addition to the 45-minute coal mine tour, you also get a guided tour of an old homestead and how they lived back then which was really interesting. The children's museum only took about 20 to 30 minutes. It was rather small but a nice addition. Kind of wish the coal mine tour had time for questions and answers.

Christina Danley

Google

Overall the buildings and mine tour are very interesting and a fun thing to do if you’re visiting the area and want to glimpse a piece of coal mining history. The youth museum is included in the admission price but it’s extremely underwhelming and the mine tour is not kid friendly if your child cannot remain quiet for 30 minutes. Our 2.5 yr old loved it, but unfortunately that resulted in him toddler rambling excitedly and the tour guide asked us several times to quiet him down because he couldn’t talk over him. We were at the very end of the end car and he stayed at the front; everyone heard the guide just fine. While I can see his point and I agree, I wish our son would have been silent, they should forewarn people that everyone must be able to remain quiet during the tour in order to participate, or better yet make the tour for a certain age and up only. At $22 per person the price is a bit steep, but I doubt they get a lot of traffic and that’s the reason for the higher cost so they can remain funded and operational.

Grayson Isley

Google

I would say this is a must visit. So interesting and informative. The cole mine train ride was definitely the highlight of the trip. Jerald was our tour guide and he was great! He knew all the things and was so nice. The place was so clean and organized. highly recommend.

Charles Atkins

Google

If you think your job is bad, this tour may change your mind. Very informative tour on how rough the coal miners of West Virginia had it. Our tour guide was a real miner and was able to share first hand accounts. Traveling under the mountains may be unnerving for some, but they do a good moving the tour along. The grounds were well kept and have a small museum on the second floor. All employees were top notch.

phillip stuller

Google

First time ever. I was very very impressed. Everyone was fantastic. Well worth the money. Would have paid more. The mine is very interesting. All the buildings there are in tip top shape. The staff was very knowledgeable. I learn lots of interesting things. Highly recommend stopping by if you're ever close. Stop even if you're far away. well worth it