This small, quiet town was the center of coal mining activities in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Mt. Olive is the final resting place of Mary Harris, better known as "Mother Jones". Her simple headstone is in the Union Miners' Cemetery on the northwestern edge of the city. Mother Jones was a fierce fighter for the rights of miners and children, having once led a march on the city of New York protesting against child labor. A sign indicating the way to the Mother Jones Memorial is virtually the only clue that Mt. Olive was once a thriving coal town.

A Guidebook to the Mother Road
Bob Moore & Patrick Grauwels