"I'm ecstatic, I'm humbled, but it wasn't just me it took a lot of people pulling together to make it happen," says Carol Thorn, President of the Everettville Historical Association.

She and the EHA have been working long and hard to make sure the 149 miners who lost their lives in the Federal No. 3 mine are never forgotten.

Rich Wilson lost his great grandfather in the explosion.

"Usually they just forget the coal miners after they're gone, they're gone, it seems like," says Wilson.

He says he never imagined anything would ever become of the old mine site.

"This is pretty nice," says Wilson.

Sunday, the Everettville Historical Association broke ground for the Miners' Memorial.

A large crowd gathered to remember those who died and to celebrate those that they'll never be forgotten.

"These guys were almost gone," says Thorn.

"We say almost now because they will not, they will not be forgotten."

Thorn says the abandoned land is now a learning site, bringing together different disciples and giving West Virginia University students an unique opportunity.

Future lanscape architects have been designing the memorial park in class.

"We each had our own design and we spent about two months at it and it's a real meticulous process but I'm glad that I got to this point," says WVU sophomore Matt Pizatella. Thorn says involving the younger generation is how history is preserved.

"You have to pass history down to young people because the younger generation carries it on to the next generation," says Thorn.