Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society hosts scholars for coal mining research collaboration

Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society members enjoy a visit from international scholar Anna Fenyvesi and WVSU Professor Briane Turley and his wife Anne on Sept. 24. Pictured from left: (back row) Bruce Young, L.T. Preece, Brian Turley, Anne Turley, (front row) Donna Harris, Charlotte Anderson, Evelynn Cassady, Deresa Slone and Anna Fenyvesi. (Citizen photo by Roger Smith)

INEZ — On Sept. 24, the Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society welcomed Anna Fenyvesi from Hungary and Briane Turley and his wife Anne from West Virginia State University.

Professor Turley has done extensive research on the effects of coal mining in rural areas of Kentucky and West Virginia. He has also examined the influence that different ethnic groups have had on coal mining. He is particularly interested in Martin County’s Himlerville mining cooperative.

Fenyvesi is a Fulbright Scholar who will be partnering with Turley on a project to examine Hungarian participation in coal mining. She will be in the United States for approximately six months while completing the project.

The trio visited the site of the Himler House in Beauty while in Martin County. The story of Himlerville will be included in the project.

Model of the Martin Himler House on display at the Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society in Inez. (Citizen photo by Roger Smith)

See the related story: How We Owned a Mine, or A Brief History of Kentucky’s Mining Cooperative

Another view of the Himler House model on display at the Martin County Historical & Genealogical Society. (Citizen photo by Roger Smith)

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