The impact of the coal industry on McDowell County, West Virginia

McDowell County demonstrates the truth that regions are dynamic rather than static phenomena. The ties which connect regions with other regions vary with intensity and scope. How a region responds to changes in those ties reveals the complexity of such ties. In the case of McDowell County, as well as the rest of southern West Virginia, the ties have been simple--coal is the only important economic resource of this region.;The coal industry transformed McDowell County from a remote frontier into an integral part of industrial America. The county's identity as an important coal producing region has been dependent on exogenous factors, namely external demand and capital. Since the 1950's, there has been a large reduction of labor needs due to automation and production cutbacks. The lack of other industries to absorb surplus labor has meant out-migration and under- or unemployment. The economic prospects for the county are bleak.