Almost Nobody Knows That Parts of the Iconic Movie Coal Miner’s Daughter Were Filmed in This Tiny Virginia Town

Where was Coal Miner's Daughter filmed? The unincorporated community of Bee, Virginia—tucked away in the southwestern corner of Virginia near the Kentucky border—is one that most have neither heard of nor visited. Yet, if you've seen the famous movie Coal Miner's Daughter, you've actually seen this tiny town. At least, a glimpse of it. Parts of the famous movie were filmed right here in Virginia. Here's a closer look at this tiny town and how it served as a partial set for a famous film.

Coal Miner's Daughter is a biographical film about country music legend Loretta Lynn. Born in Kentucky in 1932, she had a humble childhood, married at just 15 years old, and then rose to become one of country music's brightest stars. Her home was on Butcher Hollow, as referenced in her famous song and the film's inspiration, "Coal Miner's Daughter." An excerpt of the song lyrics underscores her modest home, which was filled with all of the important things:

"Well, I was born a coal miner's daughter
In a cabin, on a hill in Butcher Holler
We were poor but we had love
That's the one thing that daddy made sure of."

The film follows Lynn's unique story and her journey to Nashville, Tennessee. She would go on to make 24 number-one hit singles as well as 11 number-one albums. In the film, which was produced in 1980, Loretta Lynn is played by actress and singer Sissy Spacek. Apparently, Loretta Lynn selected Spacek herself after only seeing a photo of her. The rest was history!

There were 13 locations used for the filming of Coal Miner's Daughter, and one took place in the tiny community of Bee, Virginia. Bee is in Southwest Virginia, located along the Russell Fork. Up until 2005, the community had its own post office. Today, it still has its own unique zip code of 24217.

It makes sense that Bee was chosen for a Coal Miner's Daughter film location, as the rural backroads and scenery are similar to those found in the movie's other filming locations, which included towns in rural Tennessee and Kentucky. Not to mention the fact that this region of Virginia has an extensive coal mining history.

Should you find yourself in this part of the state, you'll have a newfound appreciation for its rich history and brief cameo in the movie! But that's not the only Virginia locale that makes an appearance; a few scenes in the film were also shot in nearby Wise, Virginia.

So, if you are in a heated game of trivia and the question pops up, "Where was Coal Miner's Daughter filmed?" you'll now know the answer. Did you previously know about this famous movie partially filmed in Virginia? Share this article with a fellow music or film enthusiast!

You might be interested to learn about other movies filmed in Virginia. Or, perhaps you'd like to learn more about Virginia's country music roots. Did you know, for example, that Bristol, Virginia, is considered the Birthplace of Country Music?

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