The Himlerville Experiment: Appalachia's Only Miner-Owned Coal Town

Stories of Appalachia

There was once a coal company in Appalachia that was owned not by wealthy investors but by its employees, in a cooperative enterprise. And the houses in the company’s coal camp were owned by the miners as well, most of whom were Hungarian immigrants on the Kentucky side of Tug Fork.
Join Steve and Rod as they tell the fascinating history of Himlerville, a unique coal mining town in Appalachia founded by a visionary Hungarian immigrant coal miner named Martin Himler. Discover how Himlerville's miners were not only workers but also shareholders, creating a revolutionary model for coal mining communities in the early 1920s.
And after the end of the cooperative caused by an economic downturn, Himler himself went on to lead a most interesting life as an American espionage agent during World War II, leading to his being awarded one of the country’s most prestigious honors.
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