Tourism ~ Portal 31 Exhibit Mine ~ Lynch, Kentucky - USA.
N 36° 57.973 W 082° 55.065
17S E 329281 N 4092843
"Portal No. 31 Underground Mine Tour offers visitors the unique experience of touring an actual coal mine by rail car."
Waymark Code: WM1565V
Location: Kentucky, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2021
Views: 7
Lynch, Kentucky is now a Ghost Town with the Mine Portal tour and the Coal Museum in Benham a few miles away being the only tourist attractions in the area. Most of the tourist here just pass through Lynch while driving the Appalachian Autobahn section called the Dragon Slayer, a 22 mile section of mountain and curves along highway 160 from Appalachia, Virginia to Cumberland, Kentucky.
"In 1917 the U.S. Coal & Coke Company, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel, built the community of Lynch, Kentucky, then the world's largest coal camp. Portal No. 31 was one of the largest underground mines and is now open to the public as a mining exhibit."
From a information sign at the mine entrance:
"NO. 31 MINE PORTALS
THESE PORTALS WERE FINISHED IN 1920 WHILE COAL WAS BEING REMOVED FROM TEMPORARY PORTALS TO THE WEST. THE MAIN HAULAGE GOES STRAIGHT THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN TO LEWIS CREEK IN LETCHER CO., WHILE AN OFFSET CONTINUES TO COLLIERS CREEK, ABOUT 5 MILES, THE MINE WAS CLOSED IN 1963. IN 1968 THE THREE MAIN ENTRIES WERE REHABILITATED TO SERVE THE NEW WINIFREDE MINE BOREHOLE, 1800 FT. UNDERGROUND. THE CONVEYOR HERE HAULED COAL AT 500 TONS PER HOUR FROM THE WINIFREDE MINE TO A 2300 TON STORAGE SILO AT THE TIPPLE."
From the internet:
"Portal No. 31 Underground Mine Tour offers visitors the unique experience of touring an actual coal mine by rail car. Visitors will adorn the traditional protective gear of the coal miner as they enjoy animated exhibits along the tour. Outside Portal #31 stands a black granite monument in tribute to long time president of the United Mine Workers John L. Lewis and a memorial to U.S. Steel District #1 miners who died in mining accidents. The site also features a 1920s lamp house, bathhouse, L&N train depot and load out system."
Source of information:
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