Harry Fain, second from right, seated in shuttle car
9/24/1946
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Original Caption: "Harry Fain, second from right, seated in shuttle car on mantrip before going underground. Inland Steel Company, Wheelwright #1 & 2 Mines. Wheelwright, Floyd County, Kentucky."
In 1946, noted photographer Russell Lee was hired by the Solid Fuels Administration for War, a Federal agency, to take photographs for a survey of medical, health and housing conditions in coal communities around the country.
Located in remote areas and patrolled by mine company guards during times of labor unrest, coal communities were normally inaccessible to outsiders. But government seizure of the mines from private operators gave Lee an unprecedented view into coal fields from Pennsylvania to Wyoming.
Russell Lee took more than 2,000 photographs of the miners in their homes, workplaces, and communities.
In 1946, noted photographer Russell Lee was hired by the Solid Fuels Administration for War, a Federal agency, to take photographs for a survey of medical, health and housing conditions in coal communities around the country.
Located in remote areas and patrolled by mine company guards during times of labor unrest, coal communities were normally inaccessible to outsiders. But government seizure of the mines from private operators gave Lee an unprecedented view into coal fields from Pennsylvania to Wyoming.
Russell Lee took more than 2,000 photographs of the miners in their homes, workplaces, and communities.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Solid Fuels Administration for War.
National Archives Identifier: 541486
Full Citation: 245-MS-3259L; Harry Fain, second from right, seated in shuttle car; 9/24/1946; Photographs of the Medical Survey of the Bituminous Coal Industry, 1946–1947; Records of the Solid Fuels Administration for War, Record Group 245; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/harry-fain-seated-shuttle-car, March 21, 2025]Activities that use this document
- A Coal Miner's Work: Harry Fain
Created by the National Archives Education Team
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