Fourth of July Celebration at Stanley Heirs Park on Kayford Mountain

The Stanley Heirs Park was formed by descendants of 19th-century settlers who farmed and worked in the mines. The heirs own both minerals and surface rights to this part of Kayford Mountain, which overlooks an 11,000 acre mountaintop removal site on Cabin Creek (Arch Mineral Corporation's Samples mine, named for Eugene Samples, an official at Arch's headquarters in St. Louis.) Larry Gibson, a Stanley Heir, has been prominent in a fight against mountaintop removal, and has refused offers from the A.T. Massey Coal Company for Kayford Mountain. The Stanley Heirs hold celebrations on Kayford Mountain on Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, and Columbus Day weekend. People camp out, make music, and explore the mountain in Orv's for three days. Gibson has been featured in national coverage of the issue by U.S. News and World Report (Aug. 11, 1997), the Washington Post, the New York Times, and Nightline, among others.
Event: Fourth of July Celebration.