Welcome
This exhibit will explore the impact of national labor organizations and its role in the Battle of Blair Mountain. Specifically, we will be diving into the history and influence of Bill Blizzard.
So, who exactly was Bill Blizzard? William "Bill" Blizzard is arguably one of the most influential people in the history of American labor rights. Blizzard was born on September 19th, 1892 into a coal mining family in Kanawha County, West Virginia. Blizzard's father, Timothy, was a coal miner and his mother, Sarah, was a fervent supporter of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). Because of his family's strong support for the UMWA, Blizzard and his family were evicted from their coal-company-owned home when he was just 10 years old. After becoming a coal miner himself, Blizzard would eventually became president of the UMWA District 17 when he was only 19 years old . As president, Blizzard advocated for the rights of mineworkers and it is said that he was not referred to as a peacemaker at the table. Bill Blizzard's hard stance on positions of worker's rights and no-nonsense negotiating style led to the coal companies starting to listen to the demands of both the union and the UMWA. As tensions between the UMWA with the coal companies rose, Bill Blizzard did something that would be unheard of from a union leader today-- he lead an army of miners in battle against the Logan County Sheriff Department and became a prominent leader in what would be known as the Battle of Blair Mountain. After being exiled from the UMWA by a coal company sympathizer, John Lewis, Blizzard retired and died 3 years later on July 1st, 1958 (Peoplepill.com, 2020).
Click on the links above in the page navigation to learn more about the way the community supported miners, the treason trials of Bill Blizzard, and what exactly pushed the UMWA to the point of revolting.
This project was researched and created by Grace Holstein, Matt Kasopsky, Wesley Rouch, and Amanda Waterman as part of a collaboration between Dr. Erin Brock Carlson's Multimedia Writing (ENGL 303) course and Dr. Miriam Cady and the West Virginia and Regional History Center in Spring 2021