The interior of Floyd Simpson's farmhouse at Country Mile Farm near Belmont is crumbling. Ohio Valley Coal began longwall mining under his house at 8 o'clock this morning. It wasn't long after, that this 140 year old house began to fall to pieces. The walls and ceilings are all cracking. Floyd has set up six pendulum's around the house, and throughout the day Floyd has watched them shift about an inch and a half on the chart. Which means the house has tilted considerably. The coal company called Floyd about ten after 8 when the mining started. Everything was fine at that time, but that's when things started to move.

"Within ten minutes after he hung up the house started to move and the plaster started to separate and some of the walls are seperating in the house. I would call it a major problem especially in the upstairs of this James Kinney Homestead," says Simpson.

Floyd says he thinks most of the cracks in the ceiling should fall by tomorrow. All the damages to the house will have to be paid for by Ohio Valley Coal. Floyd says that his barn will be mined under tomorrow and he expects much of the same damage that his house is seeing.

The Kinney House was braced for the mining with heavy steel cables, but not even that could help the shifting house. Floyd says he will have to assess the damages with the coal company, and the historic house will be restored to its original condition.

Nate Cline