Welcome to the Coal Creek Miners Museum
Where the Coal Creek story lives
Step into a life-size coal mine, walk through a company store and miner’s house, and meet the men, women, and children of Coal Creek, Briceville, and Fraterville, a valley that changed American labor history and mine safety.
Now open: our second floor
Thanks to a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the generosity of our community, the museum has doubled its exhibit space. Both floors are reachable by elevator.
Walk into the mine
A life-size mine, company store, and company house show how miners’ families lived and worked.See the valley
Videos in our Opera House and drone footage of historic sites across the Coal Creek Valley.Test your knowledge
Interactive quizzes, rare photographs, and a seasonal exhibit that changes every few months.Three stories that shaped the Coal Creek Valley
The Coal Creek War
In 1891 and 1892, miners rose up against the state’s use of convict labor, a fight that helped end convict leasing in Tennessee.Read more →
Fraterville, 1902
Tennessee’s worst mine disaster took 216 men and boys and left a town of widows and orphans.Read more →
Cross Mountain, 1911
An explosion killed 84 miners, and the rescue of five survivors became a landmark in mine safety.Read more →
Looking for a coal-mining ancestor?
Our historian can help you search for miners, disaster victims, and Coal Creek Valley families. Start with our free printables:
Family History Starter Guide (PDF) Ancestral Chart (PDF)
How to request help from our historian →
Museum news
Help preserve this history
The museum is a nonprofit run by volunteers. Become a member, honor a loved one with a memorial brick, or make a donation.