August 30, 2026 - A new mural spanning the side of 1910 restaurant in downtown Logan, WV was formally dedicated on Aug. 25, honoring generations of Appalachian coal miners as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

“We are not simply just unveiling a mural,” Logan City Clerk Amber Miller-Belcher told the crowd gathered for the ceremony. “We are unveiling a story of Logan. And not just Logan, but the United States, beyond and the world. It is a story written in coal dust, and it is carried on the shoulders of generations and built through sacrifice, courage, determination and an unshakable Appalachian work ethic.”

The piece was painted by Tom Acosta, a self-taught artist and McDowell County native who has spent more than 40 years painting scenes of Appalachian life. Acosta, who grew up in Iaeger and now lives in Kimball, is known for large-scale murals across southern West Virginia, including what has been described as the state’s largest mural in Welch, along with public art in Princeton and Hinton and murals inside the Mount View High School auditorium.

Speaking at the dedication, Acosta said his own family’s story runs through the piece: his grandfather immigrated from Mexico, and his father was born in a boxcar en route to Chicago before the family settled in the coalfields, working first in Mingo County and later in Logan County. Acosta said one of the miners depicted in the mural is modeled on his younger brother, and that a woman featured in the piece, representing the region’s European immigrant miners, was inspired by his fiancée, who is from Ukraine.

“It’s an honor to do this mural,” Acosta said. “I never expected such a turnout.”

Of the purple bicycle worked into the piece, he said he felt something was missing from the mural’s progression through time.

“All this is for our children and the next generation,” Acosta said, “and it just added something to it, I think, a continuation of the mural.”

The mural traces coal mining in Logan County across more than a century, moving from hand tools, oil lamps and canaries used by miners in the early 1900s, through the company-town growth and labor organizing of the 1920s — including the events surrounding the Battle of Blair Mountain — into the 1940s wartime production era, a 1970s panel depicting a woman miner, and present-day mining. A purple bicycle painted into the mural represents the next generation, Acosta said.

The project was funded through the West Virginia Department of Tourism and organized with support from the Logan County Commission, the Hatfield-McCoy Convention and Visitors Bureau, the West Virginia Municipal League, and the City of Logan, according to remarks at the event.

City Clerk Amber Miller-Belcher served as master of ceremonies on behalf of Mayor Serafino Nolletti and Logan City Council. Restaurant owners Joanna and Rafael Rodighiero hosted the celebration, which included a red bandana theme referencing the miners who wore them during the Battle of Blair Mountain, along with a “cold miner” drink and a flower bar featuring orange lilies, a nod to the wildflowers coal miners historically picked for their wives on the way home from work.

West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner spoke at length about the mural’s timeline, tying it to his own family’s coal mining history. Warner said his grandfather, Charles C. Warner, was jailed after organizing miners for John L. Lewis.

“In the mountains of West Virginia, where coal seams run deep and an astounding work ethic runs even deeper, you’ll find the heart of our nation and the backbone of America: the Appalachian coal miner,” Warner said.”We honor those who came before us, the miners who helped build Logan County and powered a growing nation. We see you, we remember you, and we honor you.”

Warner also asked attendees to observe a moment of silence in memory of Willie Akers, the Logan basketball and community icon who died Aug. 18 at age 89, one week before the dedication. Akers played alongside Jerry West on West Virginia University’s 1958-59 and 1959-60 teams, which combined for an 81-12 record and reached three NCAA tournaments. He went on to coach Logan High School’s basketball team from 1961 to 1983, leading the Wildcats to four Class AAA state championships — in 1964, 1977, 1978 and 1983 — and a 402-116 record, and was named the state’s Coach of the Year in 1983. Beyond basketball, Akers also served on the Logan County Commission for 21 years. The Logan High School Fieldhouse was renamed Willie Akers Arena in his honor in 2002.

West Virginia Coal Association Senior Vice President Chris Hamilton also spoke, noting that Logan County remains the state’s leading metallurgical coal-producing county.

“That’s a hidden secret — that’s our natural advantage,” Hamilton said. He said West Virginia continues to mine “upwards of 90 million tons a year” of coal and remains the nation’s leading coal export state, leading underground coal mining state, and leading metallurgical coal-producing state.

Other speakers and attendees recognized during the event included state Sens. Rupie Phillips and Zack Maynard, West Virginia Municipal League Executive Director Susan Economou, Logan City Council members Ken Lee, Jay Mullins and Brandon Picklesimer, Logan County Commissioners Diana Barnette, Eric Porter and Billy Jack Dickerson, and Hatfield-McCoy Convention and Visitors Bureau representatives Debrina Williams and Kansas Moore. Courtney McCoy, owner of McCoy Station, and Roger May, of the Mine Wars Museum, were also recognized for their work preserving Logan County history.