Appalachian History

The Battle of Blair Mountain marked a turning point in the national movement to better the conditions of working people by demanding the legalization of unions. It was the largest armed labor confrontation in U.S. history, and it began on August 24, 1921. The highway historical marker erected last April by the state of West [...]

The following article was originally written for the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia under the title “Still Fighting the Battle of Blair Mountain,” by C. Belmont Keeney. Keeney reprinted the article on his blog, The Appalachian Scholar, on 7/31/09. “I’m an author, historian, musician, professor, and mountaineer,” he says. “I have published two books, To [...]