Honoring the organizations who made the restoration of Mine No. 31 possible
The rehabilitation of Portal 31 required the expertise, equipment, and goodwill of many organizations. We are grateful to each of the partners listed below for their essential contributions to bringing Mine No. 31 back to life for the public.
Delivered engineering and surveying services for the project — providing the technical expertise needed to design a safe and authentic mine rehabilitation.
Supplied the personnel and heavy equipment required for the physical restoration of Mine No. 31 — the crews whose hands did the underground work.
Handled museum planning and exhibit design — creating the interpretive and animated exhibits that make the Portal 31 underground experience come alive for visitors.
Executed both property and underground surveying for the project — providing the precise measurements and maps needed to plan the visitor experience safely.
Furnished materials and supplies necessary for the rehabilitation work — an essential logistics partner throughout the restoration process.
Associated partner in the project — the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in nearby Benham, Kentucky is a sister attraction that shares Portal 31's mission of preserving Appalachian coal heritage.
Contributed the pictorial history and original website that helped document and share Portal 31's story with the world in the early years of the project.
Produced video content documenting the rehabilitation process — making a portion of this footage available online to share Portal 31's story with a broader audience.
Donated materials for the restoration of the mine — specifically the ground control hardware that helps ensure the structural safety of the underground spaces visitors travel through today.
Portal 31 is also a memorial to the men who worked these seams — the miners of U.S. Steel District #1 in Harlan County, Kentucky. A permanent memorial on site honors those who gave their labor, and often their health, to the coal that built America's industrial century. A black granite monument dedicated to John L. Lewis stands as a tribute to the labor leader who fought for the rights and safety of all coal miners.