Coal Mining in a Small Town

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWN
A photographer brings mining into stark relief inColstrip, Montana.

Coal storage area and railroad tipple, Colstrip, Montana, 1984. The photographer documented the town during the early 1980s. Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. Strip mine, power plant, and waste ponds Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana.  View from State Highway 39: Sagebrush Court and power plant Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. Power plant, cooling towers, and railroad spur Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. View from Sarpy Creek Road: new mine area and spoil piles Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana.  Power plant, waste ponds, and mobile homes Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana.  View from Power Road: Ash Street and company houses Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana.  Mine spoil piles and intersected water table Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana.  Pulpit, First Baptist Church of Colstrip Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. Unreclaimed mine land from the 1930s Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. View from North Camper Village: power switching yard Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. Burtco RV Court and power switching yard Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. Mine pit, dragline, and spoil piles, 1984 Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. Cooling towers and administration parking lot Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. Waste pond Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

COAL MINING IN A SMALL TOWNA photographer brings mining into stark relief in Colstrip, Montana. The Colstrip plant’s cooling towers and railroad spur, 1983. Today Rosebud mine, the source of the town’s coal, covers 50 square miles. Photo: Photograph by David Hanson

David T. Hanson was born and raised in Montana, not far from Colstrip. After majoring in English Literature at Stanford University, he earned an M.F.A. in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design and taught there in the departments of Photography and Landscape Architecture from 1983-2000. He has received a number of awards for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. One of Hanson’s aerial views of Colstrip was selected by New York Times’ photography critic Vicki Goldberg as one of the 100 most important photographs of the 20th century. He makes his home in Iowa. A special collector’s edition of Colstrip, Montana is available from Taverner Press. For more information, visit www.davidthanson.net.  Photo: Photograph by David Hanson — David T. Hanson was born and raised in Montana, not far from Colstrip. After majoring in English Literature at Stanford University, he earned an M.F.A. in Photography from Rhode Island School of Design and taught there in the departments of Photography and Landscape Architecture from 1983-2000. He has received a number of awards for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. One of Hanson’s aerial views of Colstrip was selected by New York Times’ photography critic Vicki Goldberg as one of the 100 most important photographs of the 20th century. He makes his home in Iowa. A special collector’s edition of Colstrip, Montana is available from Taverner Press. For more information, visit www.davidthanson.net.

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