BY KARSON HAMMOND, MARLEE GRAYSON and KALEB RUSH

Have you ever wondered how coal mining came to be or evolved where you live? Considering the fact that coal mining is such an important part of our community, I’d say that most of you have given it a thought. Well, I decided to do a little bit of research on it. Allow me to give you the information that I discovered. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that coal mining was truly respected and made to be so important, and we have Martin Himler to thank for that.

Himler came to America from Hungary in 1907. He arrived with no money or connections to coal mining. At the young age of 18, he became a coal miner. He was a hard-working entrepreneur that wanted to be in possession of his own coal company. The abuse and under-average payments to the immigrant coal miners had quickly caught his attention. Furthermore, he saw his opportunity in Kentucky, a very coal-rich state. He made his home right here in Martin County.

In 1920, he began to bring his visions to life. He brought over hundreds of Hungarians to the town that he would later name Himlerville. The Hungarians mined in his town under his supervision. Himlerville was considered unique because, at the time, it was the only known coal mining town that was cooperative with its workers. The immigrant employees got paid wages as well as dividends; also, they owned stock within the company. Himler had the intention of making it a coal miner-owned company. He insisted on making the immigrant coal miners citizens of the country.

The town itself was a very advanced town compared to all of the others. It had the first power plant, along with being the first area with electricity and a water system that made it possible to have running water in the houses. They had several businesses that made it more state of the art. These included a bank, post office, school, and stores with baked and frozen goods.

The culture of the citizens was still Hungarian; they were a very self-sufficient town with hard-working people. They kept the Hungarian beliefs and traditions alive. Also, the people still dressed as they would in Hungary and opened bakeries that served baked Hungarian goods. Martin Himler wanted to have good working coal miners while still making them feel at home. Himler’s mansion was open to all of the coal mining community. He always held a Fourth of July celebration at his house for everyone to attend; it went on throughout the whole town.

Although, less than a decade later, the coal boom settled down, and the depression came to Himlerville. On June 28, 1928, a flood ran through the town. Houses washed away all throughout the town. Himlerville went bankrupt. The settlers believed that it was a sign from God himself that the town just wasn’t meant to be. Martin Himler left with only $4 to his name. Shortly after, the town was renamed Beauty, and most of the immigrants had fled to different coal camps throughout the country. The ones that did stay made a gorgeous impact leading up to what the wonderful town is now. They became educators, businessmen, librarians. Himler went on later to truly serve our country by joining the military, and in World War II, his job was interrogator of the Nazi war criminals.

To sum it all up, coal mines near us have had an astounding and beguiling history. Martin Himler is to thank for bringing light to the abuse of our crucial coal miners and giving us hard workers to fill those spots. Nonetheless, he gave us much more than just coal mining companies. He gave us tradition and a glorious house that never allows us to overlook the history of coal. Although Himlerville didn’t last no longer than a decade, it made a big impact and helped to form our coal mines around here.

(Karson Hammond, Marlee Grayson and Kaleb Rush wrote this article in Susannah Hollander’s eighth-grade writing class at Martin County Middle School.)