Fies, Kentucky

Fies is an unincorporated community located in Hopkins County, Kentucky, United States. The town of Fies took its name from the mine founded there in 1950, where most residents worked.[2]

Fies, Kentucky
Unincorporated community
Fies is located in Kentucky
Fies
Fies
Fies is located in the United States
Fies
Fies
Coordinates: 37°19′20″N 87°22′26″W
CountryUnited States
StateKentucky
CountyHopkins
Elevation
459 ft (140 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CST)
GNIS feature ID492068[1]

Fies Mine

Fies was home to a coal mine operated by the Miners Coal Company, mining coal from the extension of the Illinois coal basin into Kentucky.[3] Work on opening the mine had already begun in 1949, with the mine scheduled to be served by the Illinois Central, and Louisville and Nashville railroads.[4] The mine was opened in a ceremony in 1950, and named after Milton Fies, a noted engineer and chemist, initially to mine coal from the Kentucky no. 11 coal seam.[5] In 1952 personnel from the mine won the Western Kentucky Mining Institute prize for mine rescue.[6]

The Fies Mine was started as a non-union mine, though the United Mine Workers union attempted to organise there. In 1950 a watchman was killed at the mine in a drive-by shooting during attempts by the UMW to organise at the mine.[7]

By 1972 coal from both the Kentucky no. 9 and Kentucky no. 11 seams were being mined at Fies. By the early 1980s one of the two mines at Fies was scheduled to close.[8] The Fies Mine was abandoned in November 1980.[9]

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fies, Kentucky
  2. Business Week. McGraw-Hill. 1951. p. 44. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  3. Maxwell, Bruce William (1954). Public and Industrial Water Supplies of the Western Coal Region, Kentucky. US Department of the Interior. p. 9. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  4. "Fies Mine Near Production: New Industry For County". The Messenger. December 28, 1949. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  5. "Dedicated Fies Mine at Ceremony Here". The Messenger. May 9, 1950. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  6. "Crescent First Aid Team Places 1st In Annual Mine Contest". The Greenville Leader. No. 8, Vol. 39. September 18, 1952. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  7. "Luger Pistol Shot Kills Kentucky Mine Guard". New York Daily News. June 25, 1950. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  8. Energy Research Abstracts. Technical Information Center, U.S. Department of Energy. 1981. p. 239. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  9. Abandoned Coal Mine Methane Opportunities Database (PDF). US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC USA. July 2017. p. 17. Retrieved December 1, 2020.


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