TV Production Revisits History in McDowell

The historic shooting of Sid Hatfield and Ed Chambers on the courthouse steps at Welch on Aug. 1, 1921, may be included in a documentary to air next spring on The History Channel.

“Essentially, the show is about how the Scots-Irish came and settles in the mountains of the Southeast, including Appalachia , the Ozarks and Alleghenies, and essentially shaped the American identity,” said producer Julie Pryor.

There are nine chapters involved in the two-hour special, Pryor said. “One of the chapters is the West Virginia mine war.”

The specific focus of the chapter is the Battle of Blair Mountain, Pryor said. It was here that miners gathered in support of the union only to face a battle with federal troops.

However, Pryor noted there were a few events that were considered triggers of that particular battle.

These events included the Matewan Massacre and the murder of Matewan Police Chief Sid Hatfield and Ed Chambers at the courthouse steps in Welch.

For the documentary, members of the local theatre group, McArts, participated in a reenactment of murders of Hatfield and Chambers, McDowell County writer and historian Jean Battlo said.

Theater members also traveled to Matewan to shoot some scenes and to sites on Tom's Mountain, where a segment of the Battle of Blair Mountain was filmed.

Battlo said about 10 5o 55 local people participated in the re-enactments.

“We had a lot of fun and excitement,” Battlo said, recalling the drizzly day in late September when the documentary was filmed. “Except my guys had to die like three or four times in the mud. It was a fun thing.”

Moore Huntley Productions, near Boston , Mass. , is filming the documentary.

“We don't have a title for it yet,” Pryor said. “At this point we're editing, and we plan to have two more shoots. We're hoping we'll be done in mid December in terms of production, then we'll go into post production.”

Pryor said the documentary will be sent to The History Channel in Match, and should be aired in late spring or early summer.

--Samantha Perry (Bluefield Telegraph)