The mining communitu was founded by Henry Ford some time in the late 1920s or early 1930s with the intention of controlling coal and steel production for the Ford Motor Company in Detroit.
The Fordson Coal Company operated this coal mine in Twin Branch, McDowell County, West Virginia, from 1923 to 1935. The company was created by Henry Ford to secure coal for the Ford Motor Company's automotive plants
Aerial view of Twin Branch, McDowell County, circa early 1930s. Original photo caption: "Henry Ford, coal mine owner and operator. Here is a panoramic view of Twin Branch, West Virginia,Henry Ford's coal town, where miner's average $7 to $8 per day in wages. They live in clean, well kept houses.
They live in clean, well kept houses furnished at low rent. The camp is unlike all other coal camps in the country in that it is a neater, more prosperous place. There are no labor troubles and there is a big waiting list of applicants for jobs."
However, when miner's did try to unionize in 1934, Ford closed down the mine, fired and evicted all 1,000+ employees, and boarded up the homes rather than hear their grievances.
To control his Twin Branch Company's coal and steel production. Ford advertised the town as a prosperous place with low rent, high wages, and no labor troubles. Despite Ford's rosy portrayal, the anti-union situation mirroored the broader strugles of West Virginia
miners during that period. In 1934, when miners attempted to unionize, Ford swiftly shut down the mine. He fired and evicted all 1,000+ employees and boarded up the houses rather than negotiate.Henry Ford (1863 – 1947), one of the most influential industrialists in history, ushered in the era of mass-production at the turn of the century, making the automobile available to the middle and working classes. In doing so, he shaped the culture of America forever.
The Fordson Coal Company operated this coal mine in Twin Branch, McDowell County, West Virginia, from 1923 to 1935. The company was created by Henry Ford to secure coal for the Ford Motor Company's automotive plants.
A historic tunnel. known as the Davy Tunnel, was blasted through a sandstone mountain in 1890 by the Norfolk & Western Railway. Today, it is open to road traffic on County Route 7.
HENRY FORD BIOGRAPHY -ANOTHER SITE
HENRY FORD
Henry Ford (July 7. 1863 - April 7, 1947)
Ford was born on July 30, 1863, at his family's prosperous farm in Dearborn, MI. During his early years, Ford demonstrated very little interest in farming and preferred instead to tinker with mechanical devices. At age 16, Ford left the farm to work in nearby Detroit as an apprentice machinist, a job he held for three years before returning to Dearborn. He married Clara Bryant in 1888 and supported himself and his wife by running a sawmill. From 1891 to 1899, he worked as a mechanical engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit.
