What it Looked Like to Work in a Mining Town
From the Gold Rush in the 1800s to the 1970s, mining towns were blooming all over the Western world. Entire families moved across the country under the promise of a brighter future, and started towns entirely from scratch. Most of these towns would bloom rapidly to become important cities decades later, whether mining for resources was still a thing or not.
The history of the Wild West revolved around mining towns that were driving the economy forward, but most of them would stay the same over the years, like being frozen in time. You can still visit some of them to recreate the lives of those who came before, or you can go to a mining town today to have an experience like no other.
But if you ever wondered what it looked like to work in a mining town a hundred or even more years ago, here's exactly what you're looking for.
Miner's Family Photo
This is a rare family photo from a mining town because every family member is in it.
Breaker Boys
Little kids couldn't go into the mines, but they were old enough to work as breaker boys, separating impurities from the coal with their bare hands.
Typical Mining Town in 1868
Mining towns are what you usually see in western movies. If there was a mine, there was a blooming town next to it.
Underground dining hall
With extremely long shifts, miners would sometimes have the luxury to take a break to eat lunch without leaving the mine.
Miner's elevator
This is how you arrived at work in the early 1900s.
Miner Girls
It wasn't very common, but girls could mine too if they didn't have to stay home.
1900s Mining Town
Technology was revolutionizing the Western world.
Canadian Miners
Canada was also after the gold, and this was your typical start of the day at a mine.
Salt Miners
Germany was on a different quest in the 50s, and this is what salt miners looked like.
Payday
After a lot of hard work, payday finally arrived.
Miners in 1946
Mining towns could grow and expand, but they would always look the same, even after decades.
Miner and his family
Nobody seems happy about dad's job.
Miner's kids
Big families moved their entire lives to new mining towns to get the future they were promised.
Operating Heavy Machinery
Knowing how to operate groundbreaking tools was great for your CV in the 1900s.
Miner's posing
Happy 1957's miners posing with components for their tools.
Miner Horse
France wouldn't employ kids in 1970, so they would hire horses for the job.
Children of the Mines
Even a century after the Gold Rush, miners' families would look pretty similar.
1974's Mine
Mining gear evolved with the decades, but everything else stayed pretty much the same.
Kentucky Mining Town in 1974
You could feel like you were inside a Western movie when they were cool still.