The West Virginia Archives & History Commission on Friday unanimously approved the nomination of three historic properties, including the Blair Mountain Battlefield, to the National Register of Historic Places.
Despite testimony from a coal-company-contracted archaeologist and company opposition, nomination of the 1,600-acre Blair Mountain Battlefield site located on Spruce Fork Ridge in Logan County is on its way to the National Park Service for review. If approved by the NPS, the site will be listed on the register.
"It was a privilege to be involved in the consideration of what is clearly one of the most historic sites in West Virginia,” said A&H Commission Chair Dr. Robert Conte of Union. Conte acknowledged the contributions of Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Susan Pierce and National Register Coordinator Erin Riebe for “seeing that proper procedures were followed” throughout the meeting.
Other properties approved for nomination to the National Register were the Laurel Hill Battlefield Historic District in Barbour County and the Elk City Historic District of Charleston in Kanawha County.
The Blair Mountain Battlefield nomination was presented by Dr. Barbara Rassmussen of West Virginia University, Morgantown, and Dr. Harvard Ayers of Appalachian State University of Boone, N.C.
A professor of history at WVU, Rassmussen spoke to the historic significance of the site where a showdown between coal miners and local law enforcement occurred in 1921. The confrontation between the miners, sheriffs and company guards was the largest civil insurrection in the United States since the Civil War. It lasted more than a week and required the U.S. Army to quell it, Rassmussen said.
Ayers, professor emeritus in ASU’s Department of Anthropology, provided photographs and details documenting artifacts on the site. Numbering approximately 1,100, the artifacts, primarily shell casings dating from 1906 to 1919, were concentrated in 14 areas along the ridge. Ayers said there is much more to be found at the site. “We barely scratched the surface,” he noted. With further excavation, the site could reveal details of the battle to compliment oral histories.
The nomination was opposed by property owner Massey Energy Company of Richmond, Va., represented by Blair Gardner of Jackson & Kelly Attorneys at Law, Charleston. Gardner said the property owner does not dispute the historic significance of the site, but challenged the nomination based on the archeology.
Historical archeologist Marie Morton of Fairfax, Virginia, presented the opposing argument. Morton said the nomination lacked detail and clarity regarding the archeology. She also questioned the integrity of the site based on erosion and alteration due to roads and other changes.
Ayers, however, was able to refute these claims. He said erosion was not an issue and changes affected only five to 10 percent of the site, which would still be quite recognizable to those who participated in the battle. Representatives of the SHPO noted that detail is not required in the nomination, only in presentations or supporting documents.
After more than two hours of presentations and comments, the commission easily came to a vote. “There was a very civil discourse,” Conte said. “Both sides had done their research and presented in a very professional manner.” Some of the information provided was in response to questions asked by new commissioners Amy Haden Sorrells of Charleston and Bill Richardson of Delbarton. “The new commissioners helped in the decision-making process,” he said.
This process has not been an easy one, according to Conte. “Blair Mountain has come before the commission two times over a three year period, and was first presented more than 20 years ago,” he noted. In May of 2005 the commission approved the highly contested nomination at a meeting held in Logan County, but the NPS returned the document for more clarification. A lawsuit, brought by property owners and based on improper notification, was resolved. “All of the commissioners were named in the suit,” Conte said.