Coal town

A coal town, also known as a coal camp or patch^[1] is typically situated in a remote place and provides residences for a population of miners to reside near a coal mine. A coal town is a type of company town or mining community. "Usually, the coal camp, like the railroad camp, began with temporary housing-tents or boardinghouses—until more permanent dwellings could be built. Gradually, within a year or so, the camp grew into a Company Store, the most essential structure in the town...".^[2] The more typical structures such as churches, and schools would appear later as the town grew.^[3]

Given the typically remote location and the absence of any travel infrastructure at the mines, coal camps became a part of being a coal miner. "In point of fact, the operators built towns because they had no alternative. The mining of coal requires miners; miners require houses. Since most mines were opened in virtually unsettled areas, there was no existing housing....Since the almost complete absence of all weather roads made it necessary for the miner to live close to his work, small villages (often called "camps") were built close to each mine".^[4]

References

^ Sadler, Spencer (2009). Pennsylvania's Coal and Iron Police. Chicago, IL: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-6470-8.
^ Shiflett, Crandall (1991). Coal Towns Life, Work, and Culture in Company Towns of Southern Appalachia 1880-1960. University of Tennessee Press. p. 35. ISBN 0-87049-678-6.
^ Shiflett, Crandall (1991). Coal Towns Life, Work, and Culture in Company Towns of Southern Appalachia 1880-1960. University of Tennessee Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-87049-678-6.
^ Tams, William (2001). The Smokeless Coal Fields of West Virginia: A Brief History. Morgantown, West Virginia: West Virginia University Press. p. 51. ISBN 0-937058-55-6.

[1] Sadler, Spencer (2009). Pennsylvania's Coal and Iron Police. Chicago, IL: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-6470-8.

[2] Shiflett, Crandall (1991). Coal Towns Life, Work, and Culture in Company Towns of Southern Appalachia 1880-1960. University of Tennessee Press. p. 35. ISBN 0-87049-678-6.

[3] Shiflett, Crandall (1991). Coal Towns Life, Work, and Culture in Company Towns of Southern Appalachia 1880-1960. University of Tennessee Press. p. 33. ISBN 0-87049-678-6.

[4] Tams, William (2001). The Smokeless Coal Fields of West Virginia: A Brief History. Morgantown, West Virginia: West Virginia University Press. p. 51. ISBN 0-937058-55-6.

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v t e Coal
Coal types by grade (lowest to highest)	Xylit Peat¹ Lignite Sub-bituminous coal Bituminous coal Anthracite Graphite¹
Coal combustion	Ash pond Asian brown cloud Asthma Black coal equivalent Char Charcoal Coal combustion products fired power station gas phase-out pollution mitigation power in China power in the United States preparation plant seam fire tar Coke Coking Energy value Flue gas Fly ash Fossil fuel Fossil fuel phase-out Great Smog of London Greenhouse gas emissions Metallurgical coal NOx Smog Sulfur dioxide Toxic heavy metals
Coal mining	Blackdamp Black lung disease Coal dust Coalfields Coal gas homogenization liquefaction mining disasters in the United States mining region refuse slurry town Environmental issues in Appalachia Environmental justice and coal mining in Appalachia Firedamp Health and environmental impact of the coal industry Health effects of coal ash History of coal mining Hydrogen sulfide Mining regions Outbursts Peak coal Problems in coal mining Refined coal Whitedamp
Note: [1] Peat is considered a precursor to coal. Graphite is only technically considered a coal type.

See also

References