RACHEL, WV
Rachel was a coal mine and coal camp opened in 1917 by Consumers Coal Company, as state records say, or
Consumers Fuel Company, as a 1920 article in The Coal Industry stated. Either way, the mine produced a hefty 301,060 tons of
coal in 1921, and in 1923 the operator's name changed to the Bertha-Consumers Coal Co. Bertha-Consumers mined coal at Rachel until
1926. From 1936 until 1944 Rachel was ran by Jones Collieries, Inc. Rachel Mine was later a captive mine
for Sharon Steel of Pennsylvania, and the coal was coked in by-product coke ovens in Fairmont. Rachel is probably where the Fairmont
Coalfield reserves begin morphing from metallurgical to thermal coal.
Rachel Mine tipple as it looked nearly
a century ago. Rachel being a shaft mine, two shafts are visible in this photo - one at the tipple and one in the
background (probably the "man shaft"). The article from The Coal Industry stated that the Rachel Mine was free from
dangerous trolley wires because battery-powered mine locomotives were used. (Circa 1920 image from The Coal Industry via Google Books)
This old picture is of the "clubhouse" that
Consumers built at Rachel. According to The Coal Industry, the clubhouse was segregated between American/English employees and
"foreign" (Italian, Polish, Slavic) employees. (Circa 1920 image from The Coal Industry via Google Books)
However, this still existing building in Rachel looks like another
style of clubhouse. (Google Street View image)
A few people still call Rachel home. The Coal Industry described Rachel as being "distinct because of its homelike
appearance and the methods adopted to conserve the health of the miners and their families. A large and well equipped playground
is the center attraction to the children as well as the heads of families in spare time. The houses are above the mine in a most
healthful place and each house is single, located on a lot 100 feet square. Lots are plowed free of charge to encourage gardening,
pasture is furnished for one cow and a stable has been erected on each lot." (Google Street View image)