The
Wheelwright collection has been digitized and is now available on ExploreUK. This is one of several Appalachian collections digitized by UK Libraries
Special Collections Research Center as part of the National Endowment
for the Humanities funded Coal, Camps, and Railroads project.
Wheelwright, located in eastern Kentucky’s Floyd County, is a town
developed by Elk Horn Coal Corporation in 1911. Purchased by Inland
Steel in 1920, the coal town was expanded to include
services as a hotel, library, hospital, golf course, movie theater,
bowling alley and department store.
Because of its success, Wheelwright is often referred to as a model
“company town”.
By the mid 60s, however,
conditions were deteriorating and the town was sold to Island Creek Coal
and later Mountain Investment Company. By the
early l970s Island Creek shut down its mining operations, leaving
Wheelwright with a severe employment crisis.
Above: Blueprint detailing a three room miner’s house (
Wheelwright collection)
Below: Slide depicting the same three room house plan (
Karl Raitz Kentucky slides)
This collection contains records from three of the companies that
owned Wheelwright: Inland Steel, Island Creek, and Mountain Investment.
The Inland Steel section contains little about the mining
operations but is rich in details about the town itself. House and
building improvements and maintenance records, monthly and annual
reports on the properties and general office files covering topics from
“Air conditioners” to “Woman’s Club”, create a vivid picture of company
town life–from the company’s perspective. Unfortunately, these records
are incomplete, covering primarily the l950s and early l960s.
The Island Creek records are primarily those of the coal
operations, containing daily time reports, records of employee earnings,
mine reports, and office files. The Mountain Investment Company section
thoroughly records
that company’s ownership of Wheelwright from l966 until l979 when it
sold the town to the Kentucky Housing Corporation, a state agency. The
documentation includes utility files–from meter readings to financial
records; accounts payable; an extensive house and building file
containing everything from maintenance to payment records; and office
files.
This collection was digitized as part of the
Coal, Camps, and Railroads
project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Above: Blackout regulations for Wheelwright (Wheelwright collection)
Below: Hand drawn plans for a tower operator (Wheelwright collection)
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