According to elven scholars, the name was originally "Echoes Field" due to the echoing of the pit, but has changed over time to Ekersfeld. The present, Lady Ekersfeld doesn't believe that, preferring that the mines have been a family venture for hundreds of years.
The village, itself, if mostly built around the outside of the pit, but some have made their homes in the ancient chambers below. Further down are the iron mines, where many of the residents work.
The villagers may know more about the pit than anyone else, but they don't know much. The stairs leading below the mines are closed with a locked gate and no one ventures beyond it.
Still, they do know a few things about what's below.
First, there are bats living down there. Very large ones, which come out at night. For this reason, the villagers tend to stay indoors after dark.
Second, there is-- or at least, was-- somebody living down there. The old folks say their grandparents told them stories about the pit people, who used to come up to trade on occasion. No one alive has seen a pit person, but they were said to be small and strange-looking, but friendly enough. These "pit people" are actually a tribe of goblins, who do still live below.
The villagers don't know anything about the origins of the pit, but they have plenty of theories. Maybe the people were digging something up. Or maybe they just liked the darkness. Or maybe they were demons digging a pit to hell. In any case, the villagers don't believe dwarves built it. Dwarves do build underground cities, but a few dwarves passing through have told them it doesn't look dwarven to them.
The villagers don't know how old the pit is, but they believe it's at least a few thousand years old. They are correct.
A few out-of-towners have gone down into the pit over the years. Most of them didn't return. Those that did weren't down there long and didn't venture very far.
The villagers' shrine is dedicated to the god of mining or smithing.
The villagers don't process the ore they mine. They send it to a nearby mill to be crushed and smelted.