New Book Highlights the Legacy of Coal in Campbell County

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - July 31, 2013 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Coal in Campbell County from local author Mary Kelley and the Campbell County Rockpile Museum. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images of the coal industry in this Wyoming county.

In his Annual Report of the Territorial Geologist to the Governor of Wyoming 1890, Louis D. Ricketts wrote, “The coal of this district has little other use than that of supplying a local market.” Years later, nothing could be further from the truth. The United States uses approximately one billion tons of coal a year, with about 390 million tons coming from Campbell County, Wyoming.

Since large-scale commercial coal production began in Campbell County in the mid-1970s, most coal companies have changed names, owners and boundaries several times. To let those changes go unrecorded would be to lose the very beginning of coal in Campbell County. Images of America: Coal in Campbell County hopes to preserve the history of the coal industry for future generations through this compilation of stories and vintage images.

Highlights of Coal in Campbell County:
•   Contains rarely seen images, including photos of early mining equipment dating back to the 1920s.
•   Discusses how many homestead families had mines on their property and how many of these families still live in the area.
•   Information about reclamation and wildlife conservation, as well as air and water quality.
•   A portion of the profits will benefit the Rockpile Museum Association.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.  

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com/.