Coal & Iron Police

A man and woman hand-crank a windlass at a bootleg coal mine.

The Women Were Always In On It

Women did work the bootleg coal holes, above ground and below. And that’s not all they did.

Newspaper headline that reads: "Miners Take Pistol from Special Cop"

Standing Down the Police

In 1935 the coal bootleggers were feeling strong. They were unionized and had just defeated a series of anti-bootlegger bills in the statehouse. They held a truce with the state… Read More »Standing Down the Police