West Virginia Coal Camps: Women's Roles

1900-1950's- Women's Roles in the West Virginia coal camps. The women here at these coal camps had very few employment opportunities outside of the home. Their primary work was critical to coal production. they fed their husbands (usually a miner), washed his clothes, took care of him when sick or injured, and raised the children who would become the next generation of mineworkers. They provided to the family income in most cases by performing domestic work for other families, produced goods for use in the home, and scavenged and bartered goods.Women's workplaces in the southern West Virginia coal camps were complicated by the existing social and economic conditions. In a variety of ways, miners' wives maneuvered within the industrial structure