WV Coal Company Store
by Flees Photos
Title
WV Coal Company Store
Artist
Flees Photos
Medium
Digital Art - Photograph Giclee And Home Decor
Description
The coal industry at the end of the 19th Century to Early 20th Century was inherently unjust and inhumane, particularly in WV. When an individual received work from a coal mine the mine and the company store owned that individual and the family.
The coal companies provided the employee a row house, coal scrip or company money, and a company store to purchase the basic necessities for the family. The system was rigged though there was no way to become free once caught under this system. The system was rigged and today the process would be considered Human trafficking or labor trafficking.
There was a song that illustrates this system. The song was written by Tennessee Ernie Ford Sixteen Tons and it was titled owe their soul to the company store.
Transitioning from the 19th century into the 20th century the coal mines unionized. The unions fought for fair pay and the employees being paid in currency instead of scrip, and thus ending the indentured servitude the coal mines had to the company store. This is an image of a typical wv coal company store.
Uploaded
November 26th, 2015
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