BLUE HERON
McCreary Co., KY
By
ALSO known as Mine 18, Blue
Heron was a Stearns Coal & Lumber Company-owned coal mining camp supported
by Mine 18. It is located on SH 742,
nine miles southwest of Stearns at the west end of Mine 18 Road, in the
It was in operation from
1937 through December 1962. At its peak
it employed 300 miners, and was carved into the side of a mountain overlooking
the Big South Fork of the
When Blue Heron was abandoned in
1962, some structures were removed and others were left to the elements, which
rapidly took their toll. In the 1980s,
the coal camp was rebuilt as an outdoor museum to show what the town looked
like at its prime. The rebuilt
structures are not recreations of the original buildings, but open shells
called "ghost structures," which were built where the originals once
stood. They were also built as close as
possible to the originals in size and orientation. Inside each of these coverings, an aspect of
life in the community is showcased. The
National Park Service (NPS) has installed audio programs along with the static
displays, creating a true museum to old King Coal.
Some
of the amenities of this isolated coal mining camp included:
A lot more information
and details can be accessed on the National Park website featuring Blue Heron,
located HERE.
This
was our Ghost Town of the Month for Jun/July 2007
This is one of the towns
featured in my newest book, GHOST TOWNS:
Yesterday & TodayTM.
***************
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FIRST
POSTED: June
16, 2007
LAST
UPDATED: August 05, 2007
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