Appalachian Landscapes in Transition: Documenting Stories of Place in Martin County, Kentucky

FAIN: FT-291627-23

Karen Rignall
University of Kentucky Research Foundation (Lexington, KY 40506-0004)

Research and writing leading to an article on how the reuse of a former coal mine for sustainable energy production is affecting the surrounding Appalachian community in complex and unexpected ways.

This project documents the underrepresented voices of Appalachian communities who have experienced—and creatively responded to—waves of displacement because of extraction. Using public humanities and engaged research methods, I will document a new phase in this history in Martin County, Kentucky: after coal mining came to an end in the early 1990s, county residents began using a former strip mine as a de facto county park for outdoor recreation and visiting family cemeteries. In 2020, a solar project was announced that will introduce utility-scale renewable energy but also enclose Martiki, putting an end to its public life. This project seeks to advance the humanities’ contribution to scholarship on economic and energy transition in extraction zones by using story and cultural expression to document the loss, creativity, and cultural practices associated with this landscape transformation.