MINGO COUNTY, WV (WOWK) — The tradition of coal mining is crucial to the economy and people of Appalachia, but hundreds of miles of mining land have shut down over the years. That’s why one project is giving a former Mingo County mine site a new life.
It’s a part of the Highwall Project, a redevelopment project undertaken by multiple partners, including Coalfield Development, the Mingo County Redevelopment Authority, Canebrake Cabins/Vickers Rentals and numerous others. The project’s goal is to revitalize the site and enhance tourism in the area.
“We started our work about five years ago. Now, there was some previous work done in one of the cabins about ten years ago, but five years ago, we started to do our regenerative AG project, began to rotate animals on the land,” said Kaleb Hanshaw, Director of Reclamation and Remediation at Coalfield Development
The surface mine operated for years and closed down in 2010. The land sat empty until the community knew it was time for change.
“I think the design is there. I think that there’s a need and there’s a niche for good healthy food, for experiences, for people to come experience the farm, for kids to come and feed our sheep. So, I think there’s opportunities for us to, to build businesses here,” Hanshaw said.
They began the work by bringing animals back onto the land for the first time in years, which would eventually evolve into a working farm. Steven Spry, a Crew Chief with Coalfield Development, said that planting seeds of hope is now his labor of love. The farm is now complete with cattle, pigs, chickens, crops, and more. There is even a farmstead where you can purchase eggs, meat, milk and more, fresh from the farm.
“I had gotten into some trouble when I was younger on in life and went through a program, completed it, went through the schooling part of this, graduated, got a college degree,” Hanshaw said.
Now he leads those who would have walked his same path. The revitalization of the site did not stop at the farming area. With the help of the community partners, workers with Coalfield Development were able to build cabins. One is completed and two more are under construction.
“What people can see is where it was, and here it is now, and where it’s going and just the potential for places like this. This is not something that in any way should be limited to just this site specifically. This is something that could be spread across all post mine lands really,” said Christian Jones, a Crew Chief who is working on the construction of the cabins.
They are hoping that with additional lodging and the farm up and running, they can attract more tourists to the area, creating more jobs and building support for local businesses.
Highwall will celebrate with a ribbon cutting for their cabin on Tuesday, because rebuilding from the ground up takes a village.
For more information on the Highwall Project, click here.
