Trials were held in Jefferson County at Charlestown. If you do a search you will find an excellent site for "Save the Jail" (might be "Save the jail .com" but I don't remember for sure. Lots of info available, including a list of reference books available to buy. The following was written by Rev. James Grandson, Fred Wilburn (son of Ike Wilburn) - "In 1920 labor troubles erupted in Kanawha, Mingo, Boone and Logan Counties. The Coal Companies hired armed guards. The miners called them thugs. The County Sheriffs hired more deputies as many as 60 or 70 each. Union organizers were beaten and put on trains out of the county. The union began arming the miners. Granddad at first refused to join the rebellion being an ordained Baptist Minister. He kept his sons 4 of them out of the strife. One evening while the family was at supper, Granddad was passing the cornbread plate and a bullet came through the window and shattered the bread plate. Saying "its time to lay my Bible down and pick up a gun", Granddad took his boys and headed over Blair Mountain. Near the summit, not far from the home of Devil Anse Hatfield, a sheriff's guard post fired on them. They returned the fire and one deputy sheriff was killed and another wounded. They were recognized and my Uncle Frank, Granddad's 4th son with 2nd son Jess pulled out and went to Harlan County, Ky. Where they remained until Gov. Hatfield issued a blanket pardon in 1926. Granddad, Ike and John were arrested and locked up in the Logan County jail in Logan, WV. Ike, 1st son was released after 32 days. He had not gone with the boys on their journey. Dad (Ike) had gotten married in January 1920, and was at home with his bride Lola Mullins and his son Fred (me). A change of venue caused this trial to be moved to Charlestown, WV. Granddad was convicted of treason against the state of WV and sentenced to Moundsville State Prison, 3rd son John was convicted of murdering deputy Gore and also sentenced to Moundsville. Both were pardoned in 1926 and came home." An excellent book to read on the subject of The Battle of Blair Mountain is "Thunder in the Mountains" by Lon Savage. And, have you checked the Coal Mining web site out? I think there is a link to it from The Boone County Genealogy page. There is some interesting reading available there also. Also, in Logan County there is a park at the site of the Battle of Blair Mountain. I haven't been there yet, but hope to visit it this spring. The following is an article I saved - "May 07, 2005 Mountain nominated for historic status Charleston Gazette Article . Landowners, coal industry object LOGAN - State officials on Friday agreed to recommend the site of the country's largest labor insurrection for the National Register of Historic Places, despite protests from landowners and members of the coal industry. The West Virginia Archives and History Commission unanimously approved the nomination of the 10-mile Spruce Fork Ridge that was the site of the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, the culmination of a bloody struggle to unionize the state's southern coalfields. Thousands of union coal miners fought Logan County Sheriff Don Chafin's forces, who were trying to block the miners from entering nonunion territory. Federal troops eventually were called in to turn the miners back. Logan County remained largely unorganized until 1933, when Congress gave legal protection to unions. Preservationist Frank Unger said Blair Mountain would become the first nationally recognized battlefield related to labor unrest if it is approved at the next level. Greg Whooten, vice president of landowner Dingess Rum Properties Inc., argued that permitting and coal extraction could be hampered by the national designation. "For all of those out there who are wearing 'Save the Mountains' T-shirts, I want to see all of you that are wearing 'Save my Job' T-shirts," he said. Several dozen miners stood and cheered. Owners of properties added to the National Register of Historic Places are given the opportunity to apply for tax credits and matching grants for restoration. The register does not restrict the use of property or require public access. But opponents noted that the designation has affected mine permitting. A subsidiary of Massey Energy Co. had planned to begin work on a strip mine on Blair Mountain by this year, said Eric Salyer of Logan County Mine Services. The company has spent more than $1 million on permits and was ready to employ 94 miners, Salyer said. "I have a real hard time explaining to them why our livelihood is being held up by this," he said. The Arch Coal Inc.-owned Hobet surface mine also has permits for areas within the 1,600 acre boundary. "There's been no tourism activity around Blair Mountain for 80-plus years," said Whooten. "What's going to change now?" The Blair Mountain standoff was the largest insurrection in American history other than the Civil War. Previous efforts to get recognition for the battlefield have been rebuffed since 1981. "Why has this taken 25 years, when Matewan - which was a precursor to Blair Mountain and was really just a skirmish - was given national landmark status in 1994?" Unger said. Pro-union forces led by Matewan police Chief Sid Hatfield earlier in 1921 battled a trainload of Baldwin-Felt detectives hired to halt the unionization of the coalfields. Hatfield was later gunned down by private guards on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse in Welch. The incidents inspired the 1987 John Sayles movie "Matewan." Attorney Bob McLusky on Friday argued that not all landowners received notification of the commission hearing within the required 30-day period. Also, 21 owners had registered their opposition to the plan before the beginning of the meeting. McLusky said his clients would consider litigation. preservation. State officials have 90 days to prepare their recommendation for the national registry." I hope this gives you some new information. I hope you are able to find out something about your Uncle at one of these sites. If you have trouble locating any of them, I would be happy to give you more help. Evelyn Wilburn Sukey -----Original Message----- From: Sassydog2@aol.com [mailto:Sassydog2@aol.com] Sent: Saturday, April 22, 2006 12:40 AM To: WVBOONE-L@rootsweb.com Subject: seeking Orval Plants (Boone WVA) and Battle Blair Mountain information Hi. My great uncle, Orval Plants, was born in Boone County WVA and died in 1955 in Everett Washington. According to family tradition, he was very involved in the Battle of Blair Mountain. He apparently learned there was a possible indictment against him, so fled the state and only came back once, quietly, for a family reunion some 20 years later. I am fascinated by this period of history for Boone, Logan and Mingo Counties. There are probably many of our elders who have first hand stories about it, perhaps shared by their parents- that hopefully someone is documenting. I am very interested in learning if there are any indictments etc. regarding this. The only thing I really found that mentions over 1000 indictments being filed is this that I found online. I have quoted the relevant parts. Does anyone have any idea if these indictments still exist in Logan County Courthouse? I'd love to schedule a trip if they are still available somewhere. If anyone has any knowledge of my great uncle I would sure appreciate it. I understand he may have worked for the Spruce River Coal Company at some time- and also worked at Jeffries. (they may be the same place.) thanks in advance- I'd love to hear what others know of this amazing time in our history. Debbie Deem Here's the info-- socialist and apparently from England-- so they must have gotten the sources from somewhere in WVA: _http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj66/newsinger.htm_ (http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj66/newsinger.htm) "How many men were killed in the march on Logan and the battle for Blair Mountain is not known. The official estimate was four, but both sides deliberately concealed their casualties and buried their dead in secret. The union's defeat was now followed by a legal offensive. Between September and October 1921 grand juries in Logan County brought in 1,217 indictments for complicity in the insurrection including 325 charges of murder and 24 indictments for treason. Hundreds of miners including Keeney, Mooney and Blizzard were thrown into jail. The trials were held in the courthouse where John Brown had been convicted in 1859. Blizzard was singled out as an example but after a trial lasting over a month he was acquitted in May 1922. The great majority of charges were later dismissed but two miners, a baptist minister, the Reverend J E Wilbur, and his son, were convicted of murder for shooting a special deputy."