| personal possession of tools and equipment, and independence in determination of work productivity. Also, as with the farmers and hunters, the production of coal by these craftsmen was small in scale and not usually enticing to outside business interests. With advancements in technology which began during the late nineteenth century, however, the simple lifestyles of the residents of these areas changed forever.
Beginning in the late 1850's, improvements in railroad construction enabled extensive railway lines to be erected through the mountains of such coal producing states as West Virginia, Kentucky, Colorado, and Illinois. In addition, roads, tunnels and bridges were also built which increased the potential for large scale mining of the distant coal reserves. The end result of such advancements was that capitalists and budding industrialists became increasingly interested in the economic benefits which might be derived from extensive coal mining.
By the latter part of the nineteenth century, a number of coal companies had settled into the coal regions of the United States. In order to fully exploit the land's possibilities, the coal companies began to organize towns based purely upon financial greed. The significance of the impact of these towns on |