Home to the largest collection of West Virginia Mine Wars artifacts in the country, Matewan is a must-see in southern West Virginia.
Photo Above: The Tug River flows the length of Matewan between West Virginia and Kentucky.
Photos Courtesy of Joan Vannorsdall.
I’d watched John Sayles’ 1987 movie “Matewan” several times, and remembered it for the grit and struggle and courage it showed. Then came Denise Giardina’s “Storming Heaven,” a book I’d read over and over, entranced by the multiple voices weaving the story of the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest labor uprising in American history. And, last year, Taylor Brown’s “Rednecks,” recounting the Blair Mountain story in different but equally memorable voices.
It was inevitable I’d go to Matewan to see for myself the place where the West Virginia Mine Wars took root in the state’s far southern reaches … and where, today, this town of fewer than 400 people is drawing thousands of visitors annually to learn its coal and rail history and ride the nearby ATV trails.
There’s no fast way to get to Matewan. Head northwest from Bluefield or southwest from Beckley — the roads are mountain-twisted and narrow, and beautiful in their own way. You’ll drive through a lot of coal towns, and their names make music: Avondale and Iaeger; Sophia and Mullens; Justice and Red Jacket.
Drive without hurrying, and you’ll get to Matewan, pushed up against the Kentucky border along the banks of the Tug Fork River.
It’s well worth the trip. What I saw and heard and felt there, I won’t forget.
Back in the days of coal, Matewan’s freight and passenger depot was a major stop on the 673-mile Norfolk & Western Railway’s main line, serving a regional population of 7,000. But after N&W ended its Matewan stops, the 1893 Depot was abandoned and slowly fell to ruin.
In 2002, the Depot was reborn. An exact replica of the original building, the Matewan Depot Welcome Center and Museum is bordered by rail tracks arcing in front and the Tug Fork flowing behind. Most of the building is a museum, featuring exhibits on the Hatfield-McCoy feud (which started in Matewan), the Matewan Massacre, the railroad and the region’s coal mining history and struggles. Visitors can also shop for locally made pottery, textiles, stained glass and jewelry at Old Mountain Field Fine Arts and Crafts.
The Depot is also the start of the 30-foot-high, nearly-half-mile-long Matewan Floodwall, constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers and completed in 1997.
“Matewan flooded 36 times from the 1940s to 1997,” Depot Welcome Center Director Juan Joyce says. “The worst floods happened in 1957, 1963, 1977 and 1985.”
Today, you can walk the length of the floodwall, etched with historic murals from the Hatfield-McCoy feud, the Matewan Massacre and the region’s coal mining legacy. It’s a beautiful walk, with the Tug flowing fast below and paneled art telling Matewan’s story.
Pass through one of the massive metal floodgate exits, and you’ll end up on Mate Street, Matewan’s business district, home to a coffee shop, a gift boutique, some restaurants and the intriguing Appalachian Lost and Found, with its adjoining artisan shop.
David Hatfield has owned Appalachian Lost and Found since 2020. He sells coal mining artifacts, books, trail-riding equipment and clothing, and a lot of t-shirts. Next door, his wife Ellen sells her watercolors and other regional artists’ work. (The couple also owns the Historic Matewan House, a bed and breakfast at the other end of Mate Street.)
Hatfield — a great-great-nephew of Sid Hatfield — is a storyteller and a passionate supporter of his town.
“I was born here, raised here, and I love it here,” he says. “A good portion of our business comes from the ATV trails,” he says. “The Devil Anse Trail across from the Depot links up to two other Hatfield-McCoy Trails, Rockhouse and Buffalo Mountain.”
Hatfield would like to see more activities for trailriders in their off-trail time. “We used to be a coal town. Now we’re an ATV town. And if the riders are going to stay here more than one night, we need to give them something to do.”
That’s where the West Virginia Coal Mine Wars Museum comes in. It’s a fascinating space, filled with interpretive signage, photographs, memorabilia, stories and artifacts. The staff is reaching out into the region with a far-reaching monuments project, Courage in the Hollers. “We’re working to revitalize our corner of Appalachia by putting people and people’s history first,” says Thomas Jude, museum and communications manager.
Putting people’s history first seems like the right choice for a town with a story like Matewan’s. You can read about it, or watch it on a screen. But you need to go there to feel it.
It’s worth the trip.
The Matewan Massacre
In the spring of 1920, the Mingo County coal miners went on strike, demanding the right to join the United Mine Workers. And a few weeks later, 10 men — including Matewan’s mayor and two brothers of the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency owner Tom Felts — were dead in the streets of Matewan.
Determined to keep the miners non-unionized and living under their control, Stone Mountain Coal Company owners began evicting miners’ families from company housing. And when the strike continued, Baldwin-Felts agents were brought to Matewan to resolve the dispute.
Determined to keep the miners non-unionized and living under their control, Stone Mountain Coal Company owners began evicting miners’ families from company housing. And when the strike continued, Baldwin-Felts agents were brought to Matewan to resolve the dispute.
Matewan Sheriff Sid Hatfield survived the shooting, went to trial for the deaths of the Felts brothers and was declared innocent. But in August, 1921, he and deputy Ed Chambers were taken to court in Welch, West Virginia, on conspiracy charges … and both were gunned down by Baldwin-Felts agents on the courthouse steps.
The Matewan Massacre was a major factor in the continued struggle to unionize the mines in southern West Virginia. By June of 1920, over 90 percent of Mingo County miners had taken the Union oath.
May 19 in Matewan is celebrated as Heritage Day, with two reenactments of the shootout, plus music, food, vendors and remembering.
The story above first appeared in our May / June 2025 issue.
