Kentucky Coal Mining Museum — Attraction in Benham

This impressive museum contains a wide variety of items on four levels, including a gift shop. I enjoyed touring it with my mom, a sister, and a niece on Saturday, July 13, 2019.

The museum contains displays related to various aspects of coal mining operations, including old mining caps, lights, and various pieces of equipment. But, it also includes displays of other aspects of a coal miner's life: a barber shop, a home’s furnishings, a hospital room, a store, and a soda/sandwich shop. A display related to Loretta Lynn who grew up in southeastern Kentucky includes at least two dresses that she wore.

A portion of the basement includes a mock mine with an entrance about 54 inches in height which allows one to experience a bit of what it’s like to be underground. As you seek to walk or crawl around it, think about the fact that many mines in southeastern Kentucky are significantly less than 54 inches high.

An elevator is available in addition to stairs for traveling between the four levels.

Admission to the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum is $8 for adults, with cheaper prices for senior citizens and children. Please try to visit this museum if you are in the area.

I urge persons who visit the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in Benham to also visit nearby Lynch, Kentucky where an exhibition mine can be toured, and various old company structures can be seen, and there is a train locomotive and train car that persons can...

I visited today, and I have to say, it was a huge disappointment. The place is in complete disarray, with Christmas trees still up in March—and not just as leftover decorations, but literally blocking around 70% of the exhibits. It made it nearly impossible to see what we actually came for.

To make matters worse, the staff was completely uninterested in doing their jobs. There were three employees there, all glued to their phones watching videos, barely acknowledging us. When we did ask questions, they acted like we were bothering them just by being there. For a place that charges admission, I expected at least basic customer service, but we didn’t even get that.

This museum has potential, but until they clean up the mess and hire staff who actually care, I wouldn’t waste your...

The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum provides a one-of-a-kind experience into Appalachian coal mining history. The museum recreates much of the history of the coal camp and dives deeply not just into the life of the miners but also their families during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries over four floors and multiple displays. My favorites were the coal miner's house and the mining equipment exhibit. Also, the staff is extremely friendly and eager to answer all of your questions. Overall, if you want to understand Kentucky's and Appalachia's contributions to the coal industry in the United States and worldwide, you definitely do not...