Coal town

Usually, the coal camp, like the railroad camp and logging camps, began with temporary storage, housing and dining facilities —tents, shanties, shacks— until more permanent dwellings could be built. Often the first structures to be built were log cabin storehouses, followed by kitchens, a lumber mill and smithies, management offices, and housing. Gradually, within a year or so, the camp would be developed as a community with a variety of housing types, including boardinghouses for transients and new hires. Typically the community was organized around a Company Store. The company would often give credit to workers in the form of scrip, a form of token money that would discourage workers from purchasing items in stores outside the town. For the wives and families who joined the miners in such a community, the company store was perhaps "the most essential structure in the town...". The coal operator would normally divest unprofitable lands as soon as possible, rather than paying land taxes. It recouped some capital by sub-dividing the tract and selling lots and eventually the housing it had built. Structures such as churches and schools were built as the community grew. The employer might donate funds to aid these, but typically they were financed by residents of the community. Given the typically remote locations of mines and the absence of any travel infrastructure serving the mines, 'coal camps' often became a part of being a coal miner. ==Living conditions==

Towns were designed by mine engineers rather than architects. Construction was kept cheap because the lifespan of the town was tied to the finite life of the coal in the mine. Unlike traditional towns, cities, the location was based entirely on access to on coal seams rather than transportation routes or comfort. The typical result was isolated, primitive living conditions, with no alternative available for the miners. Mining companies used these towns to attract workers, reduce turnover, and extract additional profit through rents and retail sales. Accommodations ranged from single-family frames to crowded duplexes. Most lacked electricity, indoor plumbing, or insulation. Most families had their own gardens and often raised poultry and pigs. Many coal towns featured company-funded public schools and church buildings. Accidents in the mine were common so there was free medical care provided by company doctors, nurses and midwives. The company store—called "the commissary"—served as the town’s soclal center. It housed the U.S. Post Office. Locals socialized and used it as the primary source for purchasing food and new clothing. == See also ==