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Coal in the United States was discovered in the 18th century by landowners and farmers on the slopes of the hillsides in the Appalachian region. It was not until the late 19th century that this black rock would become a part of an industrial revolution. One of the first mines to commercially produce coal was in Fairmont, West Virginia, and began the Consolidated Coal Corporation.  On November 20, 1968, the Farmington No. 9 mine explosion changed the course of safety for future mining and the lives of 78 families whose sons, husbands, fathers, and loved ones never came back from the cateye shift the next day.

Augusta: Surviving Disaster allows readers to glimpse the changes that mother nature and human error have wrought on the landscape and design of the "Garden City." These disasters did not only alter the city's landscape; many were the impetus for change in Augusta. The ravaging floods led to the construction of the levee along the Savannah River in 1919, to prevent flooding, and spurred the creation of the Clark Hill Dam and Reservoir. Within this volume, readers will get a glimpse of the damage
caused by the floodwaters of the Savannah River and the Augusta Canal. The remains of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, as well as other homes and businesses, after the Great Fire of 1916 are captured. Historic photographs reveal the damaged remains of the Lower Market after the 1878 tornado. Culled from the extensive collection of the Augusta Museum of History and the personal collection of
Joseph M. Lee III, these images provide testimony to the resiliency of the human spirit and the courage to move forward and rebuild. The citizens of Augusta have a long history of uniting for the common good, and this volume is a tribute to those who overcame
obstacles to create the thriving community that exists today.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, standing 198.49 feet, is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. From 1803, when the first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was built, to today, it cast its light over the waters off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, also called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." Its history--stretching from Augustin-Jean Fresnel's lens laboratory in France to the beaches of Hatteras Island where the lighthouse keepers labored--includes war, shipwrecks, hurricanes, and cutting-edge technology. Due to politics, funding, and its precarious location, it took great effort to erect and protect a lighthouse built on a barrier island. The supporters and caretakers were many, including Alexander Hamilton in the 1700s and children donating coins to a statewide preservation campaign in 1982. In the 21st century, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse continues to send out its beam to mariners.

The Sunshine State has a rich maritime history spanning more than five centuries. Tragically, part of that history includes thousands of ships that have met their fates in Florida waters.

Potentially more than 5,000 shipwrecks reside off Florida's 1,200 miles of coastline, with hundreds more lost in the state's interior rivers. In and of itself, the Florida Keys archipelago, consisting of approximately 1,700 islands stretching 200 miles, is littered with the remains of close to 1,000 shipwrecks. In fact, many features of the Florida Keys were named after various shipwreck events, such as Fowey Rocks, which earned its name after the 1748 wrecking of the British warship HMS Fowey, and Alligator Reef, where the schooner USS Alligator met her demise in 1822. Florida's Shipwrecks utilizes captivating images to illustrate dramatic stories of danger and peril at sea, introducing readers to a fascinating cross-section of Florida's shipwreck history.

Hurricane Hazel swept the U.S. Eastern Seaboard in mid-October 1954, eventually landing in the record books as one of the most deadly and enduring hurricanes. After punishing Haiti with mudslides that killed hundreds, Hazel edged northward, striking the Carolina coast as a ferocious category four. Landfall occurred near the South Carolina–North Carolina border, where a massive surge washed over barrier beaches and swept away hundreds of homes. Coastal communities like Myrtle Beach, Long Beach, Carolina Beach, and Wrightsville Beach caught the brunt of the storm tide and suffered heavy damages. Hazel barreled inland and battered eastern North Carolina with 100-plus mile-per-hour gusts that toppled trees and power lines and peeled away rooftops. It then raced northward setting new wind records across seven states. In Ontario, it spawned flash floods that became the most deadly in Canadian history. When it was all over, Hazel had killed more than 1,000 and left a trail of destruction across the hemisphere. But nowhere was its impact more dramatic than in the Carolinas.

Ever since ships began navigating the coast of North Carolina, the area has maintained a reputation for being dangerous. Weather, geography, war, piracy, and human error have all contributed to this dense shipwreck zone.

Today, the region that stretches from the Currituck Outer Banks south to Bogue Banks is referred to as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. From the 1585 grounding of the English ship Tiger off the Outer Banks to the 2012 loss of the Bounty, more than 2,000 shipwrecks have occurred in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. The stories behind the shipwrecks illustrate the best and worst of mankind, showing courage and compassion as well as the atrocities of war. This history informs readers about commerce, technology, war, environment, maritime life, and the complexity of the human element.

Floyd Collins is perhaps the most famous person you've never heard of, but this young man's tragic death made him celebrated as the Greatest Cave Explorer Ever Known.

Collins was a Kentucky cave explorer in the early part of the 20th century, characterized by his lack of fear when exploring the most difficult cave passages, and few people could match his persistence and endurance. In the winter of 1925, Collins became trapped for more than two weeks in a cave located within the boundaries of what is now Mammoth Cave National Park. The story of Floyd Collins becoming trapped and ultimately dying alone in a cave held a powerful grip on the hearts and minds of people the world over. The resulting media coverage put Mammoth Cave on the map and helped usher the actual designation of Mammoth Cave as a national park. His explorations laid the foundation for others to later discover the truth of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave in the world.

Point Pleasant's Silver Bridge, the first eyebar suspension bridge in the United States, was an engineering marvel when it was constructed in 1927 and 1928. Located on US Highway 35, the bridge spanned the Ohio River and linked Point Pleasant, West Virginia, with the towns of Kanauga and Gallipolis, Ohio. For almost 40 years, the structure provided dependable service for travelers in the region. On December 15, 1967, this service came to a dramatic and disastrous end. At 4:58 p.m., during the height of rush hour, the bridge suddenly collapsed. Rescue and recovery operations started immediately but were hampered by poor weather conditions and freezing rain. The cause of the collapse was linked to the bridge's innovative design. Undetected corrosion stress cracks caused an eyebar on the Ohio side to fracture; because the eyebars were linked together in a chain, the failure of one led to the catastrophic collapse of the entire bridge. In total, 46 lives were lost in the disaster.

Virginia has more shipwrecks than any other state in the continental United States. With 112 miles of Atlantic coast, Virginia includes almost half of the Chesapeake Bay and many major tributaries: the Lynnhaven River, the Elizabeth River, the James River, the York River, and the Rappahannock River. Since the Jamestown settlement in 1607, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of military and merchant vessels have sailed through "the Capes,'? an important economic lifeline linking the United States to the rest of the world. With 3,315 miles of tidal coastline and natural enemies such as water, fire, wind, age, and human fallibility, countless ships and lives have been lost. Virginia Shipwrecks vividly illustrates their story.