beckley exhibition coal mine and youth museum

johnnyt812

As the son of a miner, I can relate to the life and times that this place represents. The guide was excellent and I have taken the tour twice. One needs to be aware of their heritage to understand themselves and appreciate where we have come

SandraE177

This is one of the very few places you can go into a coal mine on a tour led by coal miners. You ride through in a man trip just like the miners do. The mine is set in an authentic coal town. Most of the buildings have been taken apart & reassembled here. You can tour the little town & see how people lived, worked, & worshipped. There is a park with pool & tennis courts nearby. A small campground is above the mine. It is difficult for large rv's but perfect for pop ups & other small rigs.

Ungra417

Visited the coal mine and museum during The Rocket Boys festival. We went on the tour of the actual mine. Our guide was a retired miner and did a great job describing what life was like for mine workers. We also toured all the buildings on site, church, school, company store, superintendent's home and several others. It was very enjoyable and suitable for children. There's also a small gift shop and museum on site. Everyone was friendly and welcoming.

MaryAnnC255

We visited the Beckley mine in the Spring. It was very interesting for the whole family. Cliff, the tour guide, was a retired miner, so he was able to give first hand knowledge of the experience and also he was really good at explaining things to both kids and adults. He was very kind and patient with a lot of questions. The youth museum was a great way to spend the time while waiting for the tour and it was definitely a great way for the kids to learn a few things. The displays were fantastic! The coal mine museum had a beautiful collection of everyday items and also some intriguing items from around the area. The mining town that they had transplanted there was so nicely restored. The tour outside was interesting and we certainly learned a lot while being very entertained by the staff. They were very knowledgeable!

Rita0001

To provide a break in a long drive, we stopped at this old coal mine. Retired coal miners provide the tour and history of mining in this West Virginia area. Our grandsons loved it.

DesertRhayne

If you don't understand how important the work of a coal miner is, you must come here. If you don't understand how dangerous the life of a coal miner is, you must come here. Once you visit, I promise you will thank every coal miner in the world for their dedication.

pooge

it is a okay place to go to one time but after that it is the same. I do enjoy it at Christmas time with the lights etc...but other than that...ehhh

LaurenB421

This was an amazing way to spend a few hours. Got to go into the mines on the tour and see the way coal miners lived decades ago. Very educational.

955ChrisB955

Nothing spectacular, but it is interesting. Riding into the mine shaft was pretty cool. I felt the person explaining the mine excavation process could have been more knowledgeable about West Virginia coal mines in general.

CMRussell

I am sorry to read that your visit to the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine wasn’t a truly engaging experience for you and your family. Your review only mentioned the underground tour and the Mine museum; I hope you also visited the five historical building of the Coal Camp, the Youth Museum and the Mountain Homestead while you were here. All these elements combined are what provide the complete historical picture of coal mining in our region.Again, I am sorry that the underground part of your tour didn’t meet expectations.I wish you had spoken with me the day of your visit about your concerns. We work hard to present an informative and interesting tour and appreciate your feedback. I hope that if you pass through West Virginia again, you might stop and give us another opportunity to ensure that you have a more positive experience.

bigjake392

Everybody should do this just as a history lesson on coal. Well done and all the reconstructed houses are neat too. Sure gives you another perspective on what the miners went through to make a living. Friendly staff. Very nice bldgs. since the redue a couple of years ago

Winterrvtraveler

Found it on TripAdvisor and it was well worth it. Having been in a copper mine, iron ore, mine and one in AZ, we just had to see a coal mine. The tour guide Roger, was informative as well as entertaining. He had been in the mines as an electrician for 28.5 years so he knew stuff! The buildings from former coal towns were done exceptional. There was a docent in each one that knew the answers to all the questions the guests might have. Looks like students come here for an education too. Glad they are taking pride in their history.

DeEttaWaynesville

This was totally an educational experience in the life of a coal miner. We boarded a tram type car with a gentleman named Larry as our guide and headed into the mine. Larry, a retired miner, gave us a wonderful tour explaining every detail of how men did their jobs in the mines. It made me have a greater understanding of how miserable their jobs were. The mine tour lasted about 45 minutes. After we returned to the outside, we toured the buildings that were on site. The entire tour was so very informative.

marais123

We visited this mine 15 years ago and decided to visit it again last week. The place was still great and kept up nice. It has a little store, a museum, a trip into an actual mine, and buildings from "back in the day" to visit. We spent over 2 hours there and could have spent even more. The tour was so informative - it was amazing how people survived while working in the mines. My two favorite buildings to visit were the school and the bachelor pad. The guide at the school gave us a handout which listed how many lashes kids received for various infractions. While driving home, we continued to discuss mining and miner's lives - it really was very interesting!!

chrisdF3882UR

I didn't realize how little I knew about coal mining until I visited this center! Marvin, our tour guide inside the mine, effectively passed on information about coal mining history that has me wanting to learn much more.