Along the King Coal Highway
Coal miners are transported into one of the few remaining mines operating along Route 52, or the King Coal Highway as it’s locally known, in West Virginia.
After over a century of coal mining, production in the state is slowing, and the industry has been hit hard. Job losses and business closures are creating virtual ghost towns along the route.
A coal miner wears a T-shirt prior to the start of his afternoon shift.
Miners joke around in the locker room.
Dusty boots sit on top of lockers.
Coal miner Mike Hawks, 53, walks in an underground tunnel at a coal processing facility.
Coal is stacked at the base of loaders along the Ohio River in Ceredo.
The Tug River runs through downtown Iaeger.
A cat walks past a pickup truck covered in vegetation in Gilbert.
Wayne Cline, 70, a former coal miner, said he gets by on a $742 per month social security cheque.
All terrain vehicle (ATV) riders head to off to ride on trails around Gilbert. The arrival of out of town tourists has helped an economy suffering from a loss of coal mining related jobs.
The John Amos coal-fired power plant looms behind a home in Poca.
A replica of the Statue of Liberty is shown in downtown Matewan.
A car is parked outside of the "Hard Times Tavern" in Fort Gay,
Unemployed coal miners Todd Hatfield, left, and Dave Houck drink a beer at Hatfield's bar and restaurant. Hauck lost his job in early February, then suffered a devastating setback three weeks later when the family home burned to the ground.
A statue of Marilyn Monroe stands outside the now closed Happy Days Diner in Gilbert.
Unemployed coal miner Earl Harless stands in his father's back yard. Unemployed for the last 18 months, Harless said he survived a deep mine collapse, in which two coal miners died. "We started writing our lunch box notes because we didn't think we would get out," he said.
A motorcycle rides past a roadside hotdog stand.
