Museum Honoring Longtime UMWA President Cecil Roberts to Open in Charleston

The Cecil E. Roberts Museum will house gifts and artifacts collected by the longtime union leader.

Published on Feb. 23, 2026

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A museum honoring the work of longtime United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts is in the works in Charleston, West Virginia. The Cecil E. Roberts Museum will house gifts and artifacts that Roberts collected throughout his years of advocating for mine workers. The museum's curator hopes the collection will offer visitors a chance to appreciate Roberts' contributions to the history of mine worker safety.

Why it matters

The museum aims to preserve and showcase the history of the United Mine Workers of America and the important role it has played in advocating for mine worker rights and safety in West Virginia and across the country. As a longtime president of the UMWA, Cecil Roberts was a key figure in this labor movement.

The details

The Cecil E. Roberts Museum will be located at the United Mine Workers of America office on Kanawha Boulevard in Charleston. The museum's curator, Phil Smith, who is also the president of the Cecil E. Roberts Legacy Fund, hopes the collection will allow visitors to appreciate Roberts' contributions to mine worker history.

  • The museum is set to open in June of 2027.

The players

Cecil Roberts

The longtime president of the United Mine Workers of America, whose work and legacy the museum aims to honor.

Phil Smith

The curator of the Cecil E. Roberts Museum and president of the Cecil E. Roberts Legacy Fund.

United Mine Workers of America

The labor union representing coal miners, whose history and advocacy work the museum will showcase.

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What they’re saying

“We hope that people will come and see it. Mine worker history is a part of American labor history, and there are others in the state of West Virginia - The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum, The Our Story Museum - who are telling this story as well, and we want to be part of that tradition.”

— Phil Smith, Cecil E. Roberts Legacy Fund President (WOWK)

The takeaway

The opening of the Cecil E. Roberts Museum in Charleston will help preserve and highlight the important history of the United Mine Workers of America and its longtime president's advocacy for mine worker rights and safety, adding to the growing number of museums in West Virginia dedicated to telling the story of the state's labor movement.