Idle Appalachia: Economic Agency in Appalachian Coal Towns

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

The Appalachian region is often defined by its isolation from the broader United States and has historically been depicted as helplessly passive, complicated in its economic disparity from the more successful country at large. Appalachia is often framed only in terms of the region’s powerlessness and idleness in the face of economic restriction, particularly within the context of Appalachian coal company towns. Appalachian coal company towns offered a uniquely restricted economic environment that typically included the establishment of company stores and company-issued currency. Using archaeological field reports from the Canal Street Site, Church Street Site, Yanac House Site, Lower Double Street Site, and Shop Hollow Dump Site 15Lr40 as case studies, this paper examines economic agency within the material culture and oral histories of Appalachian coal towns. The focus of this paper will consider the daily resistance and agency of people living in Appalachian coal company towns from 1920-1950.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow