Celebrating a Massacre
A Different Take on Small Town Pride
Usually, when I do a post on “Small Town Pride,” I focus on the claim to fame that gives a small town it’s sense of pride. Often times, that pride is a big celebrity who happened to be born in the town. Sometimes, the source of pride is not even a person. In fact, for Ashville, OH, the pride was the oldest operating stop light in existence. In today’s post, we find a totally different source of small town pride…how about a massacre AND a deadly feud. I give you the very small town of Matewan, WV. While celebrating a massacre may seem strange to some, in Matewan, WV, it all seems to make sense.
The Town of Matewan
On the surface, there is not much to Matewan. There are two major streets…Main Street and First Avenue…and no stop lights. There is no Starbucks, no Dollar General and only about 500 residents. The town and surrounding area give you a constant reminder of the current struggles of the declining coal industry. But, let’s stop being such a downer. Let us look on the bright side. Just about 100 years ago, Matewan hosted the single worst gunfight in U.S. history. Furthermore, about 30 some years before that, Matewan hosted it’s share of action from the Hatfield and McCoy feud.
A Bit on the Massacre
To avoid being too mainstream or “Wikipedia ish,” I will minimize the rehash of the Matewan Massacre details. Basically, the coal minors were trying to unionize in 1920. In response, the coal company hired thugs from the Baldwin Fells Detective Agency. These agents descended upon the “troublesome” miners living in the company houses. The agents then forcibly threw the families and all their belongings out into the cold, rainy, April day. Once the deeds were done, the detectives returned to Matewan to catch the 5:15pm train back out of town. At this point, the agents were confronted by the Major, the Sheriff (i.e. Sid Hatfield) and a fair amount of gun toting miners. Sh&t happened. Lots of shots rang out. In the end, 7 detectives, 1 Mayor and 3 coal miners were killed. Thus, you have the Matewan Massacre
Times change…except in Matewan
Now, If you visit Matewan today (which I am sure you will not), you will be amazed of how little has changed since the 1920 massacre. Either, they have done a wonderful job preserving the historical significance of the shootout site…or things never change in Matewan. As evidence, please examine these two photos of the massacre site, taken at roughly the same location…roughly 100 years apart.
The corner building where the shootout occurred is unchanged from the 1920 massacre. At the side of the building, there is an audio recording station about the massacre. You can listen to the recording and walk the action on the ground. Best of all, the back of the building still has some of the bullet holes from the shootout. They put brass plugs in the holes so they are easy for the tourists to find. If you found my Matewan Massacre details to be inadequate, you can always rent the movie.
The Matewan Pride Continues
As if civic pride in having the US’s deadliest gunfight was not enough, Matewan is also smack dab in the middle of Hatfield-McCoy feud country. Matewan is on the banks of the Tug River. The Tug is the border between Kentucky and West Virginia, as well as the unofficial boundary between Hatfield and McCoy territory. If you cross the Tug from Matewan, you are immediately at the sight where 3 McCoy brothers were executed by the Hatfields (i.e. Paw Paw Incident). Hatfield-McCoy history abounds in this village. Everywhere you look, feud pride is upon you…
But, the real draw of Matewan is the outdoor adventures, particularly ATV trail riding. Matewan is a Mecca for ATV enthusiasts. The Hatfield and McCoy trails are as big of a tourist draw as Matewan gets. On any given day, there is more ATV traffic around town than cars. And, if ATV trail riding is not your thing, there is always the Hatfield McCoy air boat rides on the Tug. For full disclosure, I regretably did not have time to actually partake in the ATV riding, nor airboat tours.
Wrap it up
Whether its celebrating a massacre or the Hatfield McCoy feud, there is plenty of small town pride in Matewan. Normally, at this point in the post, I write something to encourage you to visit Matewan if you are ever in the area. However, in this case, it’s just not going to happen. There is no nearby major highway, nor much cell service. Unless you are on an ATV or Hatfield McCoy pilgrimage, you simply will not be in this part of West Virginia. But, PugsleyTonks is happy to find these interesting and remote slices of Americana and bring them to you. Once again, special thanks to Goosebuster for accompanying me, navigating, and translating the local language. Have a wonderful day. PT
I hope you have enjoyed reading “Celebrating a Massacre” on Traveling with PugsleyTonks.
Here was a previous post on the Hatfield-McCoy feud https://travelingwithpt.com/revisiting-the-hatfields-and-mccoys/
If you want a bit more on Matewan and/or the massacre, https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/west-virginia/matewan-wv/
