An Abandoned Mine Cave In Kentucky, Mullins Station Is Hauntingly Beautiful

What are some other abandoned mines in Kentucky worth exploring?

With a history that includes deep ties to coal mining, it should come as no surprised that there are some fascinating abandoned mines in Kentucky to learn about and explore:

• Portal 31. Portal 31 Coal Mine was a facility owned by the U.S. Coal & Coke Company, a subsidiary of U.S. Steel, in the early 1900s. The company built the community of Lynch, then the world's largest coal camp, as a community for miners and their families. At its peak in the 1940s, the coal company employed more than 4,000 people from all over the world; its workforce was a melting pot of some 38 different nationalities. Coal mining was -- and is -- a dirty, dangerous business that helped fuel our nation's growth and remains an important part of our history and economy. Kentucky played a big role in this coal mining boom. But mining was hard, thankless work, and life at Portal 31 was difficult. The powers in charge prevented miners from unionizing, earning it the nickname "Bloody Harlan." Today, visitors can experience life in the mine by taking an underground tour to get insight into the experience of the miners who at one time worked there.
• Blue Heron/Big South Fork. Blue South Fork is an area where the imagination can easily run wild. Encompassing 125,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau, it's a place of deep beauty -- and deep mystery. For its within the wilds of Big South Fork that you'll find Blue Heron, Kentucky's very own ghost town. Blue Heron, also known as Mine 18, is an abandoned coal mining town and was a part of the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company's historic operation. The Blue Heron mines ran from 1937 until 1962, when operations ceased being profitable. Today, this mining ghost town is run by the National Park Service, and they offer guided tours along it abandoned railroad.