Drive Thru History with Dave Stotts: in this clip from our American Holiday show, learn the history of Labor Day with Dave! West Virginia is coal mining country. After the railroad companies started carving routes through the Appalachian Mountains, coal mining really took off in the state between 1880 and 1900. New communities popped up throughout the region as immigrants from Europe and African Americans from the South poured into West Virginia for jobs and better lives for their families. The