Kentucky Coal Mining Museum - Benham Kentucky - Where the History of Coal Mining Meets Coal Miner's Daughter Loretta Lynn

The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum in Benham, KY, may not be the most fascinating place you'll ever visit, but if you want to read about the geology of coal, to see coal fossils, to walk through the corridors of a mocked-up mine, to see fascinating photographs of coalminers, and to view an exhibit on the life of Loretta Lynn that takes up an entire third floor - then this is your place.

Housed in the former company store that sat in the former company town that was put up in 1910 by the Wisconsin Steel Corp., the museum features the headlamps and helmets of coal miners, carts that hauled coal from mines, a coal tipple, a model electric locomotive that kids can climb on, and re-created rooms that include the kitchen of a miner's family, the office of the company dentist, and a schoolroom. Between the rooms are all sorts of interactive exhibits as well as displays from the company hospital, early mining tools, commissary goods, and items from miners' homes.

No doubt the most popular exhibits are those dealing with the life of Loretta Lynn, the famous singer and coalminer's daughter, who was born in Butcher Hollow some 60 miles from Benham, and the preservation of whose image has become a cottage industry in eastern Kentucky. Walking through the third floor you can see portraits of Lynn painted throughout her career, photographs of Lynn, dresses Lynn wore on stage, as well as listen to some of Lynn's recordings.

Outside you can have your picture taken next to a two-ton block of coal cut specially for the museum.

Though some museum patrons have praised it with comments like "a great place to visit'' and "well worth the time,'' the traveler who complained of being "sorely displeased'' with the "hokey'' exhibits, and who called the exhibit on Lynn "pretty lame,'' was probably closer to the mark.

In short, you cannot go wrong skipping this attraction. In fact, if you're in the area you can make a much better use of your time by driving 5 minutes down the road to visit the Museum's companion facility, Portal #31 - a real coal mine where you put on real coal miner's protective gear and take a ride into depths where real coal miners worked.

The Kentucky Coal Mining Museum is located on Route 160 in central Benham.

Hours are:

Monday - Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Admission is:

$5.00 for Adults

$4.00 for Senior Citizens

$2.50 for Children and Students