By William “Skip” Deegans
Development of western Greenbrier County’s coal field was initiated by outside operators. The one exception was Greenbrier Smokeless Coal Co. that was established by Greenbrier and Fayette Countians, including H. H. Blackburn, R. M. and Mason Bell, W. E. Nelson, W. B. Hines and others. The company had obtained a 1,000-acre lease from the Gauley Coal and Land Co., and in 1920 John Nuttall from Fayetteville assisted H. H. Blackburn in opening a mine and developing the town of Bellburn (likely named for Blackburn and the Bells). The first load of coal was shipped in 1921. By 1925, there were six operators along Meadow Creek who employed 1,500 men and were shipping an average of 125,000 tons of coal a month. In 1926, Greenbrier Smokeless Coal Co. sold its coal properties – valued at a half million dollars – to the Johnstown Coal & Coke Company that had the adjacent lease. The Johnstown company was owned by the Crichton family who were experienced operators from Portage, Pennsylvania.
Shown in the photograph is Greenbrier Smokeless’ company store. Songwriter Merle Travis, who grew up in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, where his father was a coal miner, wrote a song called “Sixteen Tons” about coal mining. Recorded in 1947, one of the verses is: “I can’t afford to die, I owe my soul to the company store.” The song was controversial as the U. S. government frowned on songs about working men’s tribulations. Considered subversive, the FBI pressured radio stations to not play the song.
Tennessee Ernie Ford, a country singer, sang “Sixteen Tons” in 1955 at the Indiana State Fair. The response at the fair encouraged Capitol Records to add it to the flip side of Ford’s next record. The song was an instant hit, and Capitol sold more than 2 million records by the end of the year. It was the most successful record Capitol had ever released. The song has since been recorded by many musicians, including Elvis Presley, B. B. King, Eddy Arnold, Johnny Cash, and The Weavers.
Sources: Greenbrier Independent, The West Virginia News, The Courier-Journal, www.ernieford.com, Alan Cackett.
