By Dustin Blackson, Castlewood, Virginia
The community of Highsplint in Harlan County was first known as Seagraves Creek, named after the Seagraves family who first settled there. The family was buried in the local cemetery, but their bodies were exhumed and relocated when the railroad was built.
The Highsplint name comes from one of the coal beds in the area that was around 3,000 feet in elevation and 5 feet thick. In 1892 and 1893, two sections of this coal bed were displayed at the Chicago World’s Fair. The Highsplint Camp started in 1913. Issac Creech was the first to own the land there. When Creech traveled to record his deed in Frankfort, it took him 17 days on horseback to make the roundtrip journey. The Creech family built most of the houses in Highsplint.
On Jan. 11, 1917, the Articles of Incorporation for Highsplint Coal Company were filed at the Whitley County Courthouse by Dr. Ancil Gatliff and his son, J.B. Gatliff of Williamsburg. The business capital was $200,000, and the company’s main office was in Williamsburg. The Gatliffs and Dr. Samuel Bennett of Middlesboro soon purchased 10,000 acres between Seagraves Creek and Kilday. The first post office opened on Feb. 7, 1918, with John D. Casey as postmaster. The children rode the train from the nearest starting point into Harlan for school until the Highsplint School was built in 1918. The school building was used for classes during the day and as a theater at night. The Creech family soon built a restaurant, company store, church and doctor’s office.
The railroad started laying tracks in 1919. The steel for the tracks was shipped to Kildav and brought via wagon to Highsplint. There was no boarding house in Highsplint, so the railroad crew stayed in tents. On March 10, 1919, L&N car number 81074 was the first to be loaded with coal. In the spring of 1920, the railroad started laying tracks to the mine. The L&N car number 71357 was the first car at the mine loaded with coal on May 25, 1920. A passenger train started running once a day but ended in 1936.
Highsplint Coal Company miners made about $2 a day, working from dawn to dusk.
Highsplint was growing into a big camp, with sections of it called Gobbler’s Knob, Al Duff’s Hollow, Nine Spot, Four Spot, Depot Hill and Eversole Hollow. The Highsplint Church was built in 1926. Everyone attended a company-owned Baptist church, and part of the miners’ salaries was deducted for the pastor’s salary. Some pastors were Oscar Davis, J.C Watson, O.C. Anderson and Wayne Markham. In the summer of 1933, Rev. Oscar Davis baptized 62 people at the railroad bridge in Highsplint. There were many other baptisms at the Granny Pond.
The Granny Pond was a popular recreational spot for residents. My grandmother, Helen (Harp) Blackson, said, “I was afraid of [Granny Pond]. Nobody went swimming, and the boys said there wasn’t any bottom—that it goes on and on. Then, when they hadn’t put the baptistry in the church, I was baptized at the edge of Granny Pond.”
Many others I spoke to mentioned trying to reach the bottom of Granny Pond but were unsuccessful.
The 1930s were a notorious time for Harlan County due to coal companies looking to cut costs and wages. The miners demanded that the companies unionize. In 1934, the United Mine Workers of America offered Superintendent Jack Taylor a union contract deal for Highsplint Coal Company. His refusal started a considerable disagreement. The miners and the UMWA went ahead with a local union in Highsplint, despite the company’s refusal. Highsplint got its union recognized as local union 6074 in UMWA District 19. But that didn’t stop the company from bringing some form of hardship on its miners.
In 1945, in a legal case between Highsplint Coal Company and the United Mine Workers of America, District 19 filed a lawsuit to determine if the company could deduct miners’ wages for loading debris and impurities with coal. The company deducted miners’ wages from 1941-1942 totaling $12,654.40. The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed the company’s declaratory judgment because of an old contract that was enforceable at the time.
On April 15, 1961, Highsplint Coal Company ceased operations and leased the land to Seagraves Coal Company. The Gatliffs sold the land to the Eastover Land Company on June 29, 1970. Highsplint was one of three mines Eastover owned in Harlan County. Eastover tore down the church and most of the company houses. Earlier in January of that year, the company store had caught fire and burned to the ground.
In 1974, the UMWA worked with the miners to form picket lines. However, the rival Southern Labor Union represented the Highsplint mine and its employees. The SLU dismissed two Highsplint miners for honoring the UMWA. The picket line soon started at Highsplint. The 13-month strike was successful for the miners. Eastover soon honored a UMWA contract.
On Aug. 4, 1983, Eastover sold the Highsplint mine to the Manalapan Mining Company.