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Keystone Coal: The

History of Pennsylvania
Coal Mining
Haley Stodart
October 4, 2021

Since the late 18th century, coal mining has been

an active industry, resource, and statehood
characteristic in Pennsylvania. Fueling the
Industrial Revolution in the United States, coal
became an economic stronghold in Pennsylvania,
and the state eventually became the nation's
leading coal producer and the largest distributer of
coal, heat, and electric resources through most of
the 19th and 20th centuries.

"Map of northeastern United States showing drainage, cities and towns,

coal fields in Pennsylvania, and the railroads with emphasis on the main
line."
G.W. & C.B. Colton & Co, and Pennsylvania Seaboard. Map showing the
Seaboard, Pennsylvania and Western Railroad and its connections. New
York, 1884. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/98688801/.
Coal: From Creation to Field
Coal is a combustible black/brownish-
black sedimentary rock consisting of a
high amount of carbon and
hydrocarbon elements. It is formed
through the combination of time,
pressure, and heat. As seen in the
diagram to the right, elements within plants from millions of
years ago slowly transformed within new environments into a
new, more solid form containing those similar elements.

Coal is classified into four main types,

or ranks: anthracite, bituminous,
subbituminous, and lignite. The
amount of pressure and heat each type
receives decides their rank, as seen in
the diagram to the right. The greater
pressure/heat received, the higher the rank and the greater
amount of heat produced from burning such coal.

The two main types of coal in Pennsylvania are

Bituminous and Anthracite. Anthracite coal fields captured
the eastern markets and bituminous coal production in
western Pennsylvania encouraged western population
growth. As the demand for steel increased in the west as well,
the industry grew even more the 19th century. Furthermore,
the explosive growth of the railroad and ship industries began
to further impact coal production in Pennsylvania. 

Bituminous coal is the most abundant coal found in our state,

and mining operations are active within 21 counties in the
southwest region of Pennsylvania. Bituminous primary uses
are for electricity generation and metal production. The
largest number of mine sites are found in Clearfield, Somerset,
and Indiana counties. As of 2015 the bituminous region
produced a total of 50,128,603 tons of coal, with 40,769,171 of
those tons produced from underground mining.

Anthracite mining is spread out over six counties within

Pennsylvania. The majority of mines are located in the
northeast portion of the state, specifically Schuylkill,
Northumberland, and Luzerne counties. As of 2015 the
Anthracite Region produced a total of 4,614,391 tons of coal,
predominately from surface coal mines.
Mines, Movement, and Miners

Mines:
Most of the mines in Pennsylvania's history were dug
underground. Strip mining, or surface mining, also became
popular, but the annual surface mining production has been
generally declining since the late 1970s. In contrast, the ratio
of underground production versus total production has
steadily increased since the mid-20th century, with
underground mining become the more recognizable and
stereotypical mining format in the state.
In underground mining, a tunnel is
driven along a coal bed either from a
point on the surface of the ground
where the coal is exposed or from a
shaft that is excavated down to the coal
from above. As mining progresses,
more and more secondary tunneling is
extended throughout the coal bed. 

Pennsylvania's underground coal

production came almost exclusively
from room-and-pillar mines. Room- Lighty, Robin G. "Pennsylvania Annual
and-pillar is a system in which the Reports on Mining Activities."
CoalMiningHistoryPA.org. Accessed October
mined material is extracted by
1, 2021.
creating horizontal arrays of rooms
http://www.coalmininghistorypa.org/
and pillars. To do this, "rooms" of
ore are dug out while "pillars" of untouched material are
left to support the roof overburden.

The below slide will show you a diagram representation of such

over a historic image showing a close view of the pillared mine
and rooms beyond.
Lighty, Robin G. "Pennsylvania Annual Reports on Mining Activities." CoalMiningHistoryPA.org. Accessed October
1, 2021. http://www.coalmininghistorypa.org/

Movement:
Digging, picking, and extracting the
coal by means of dynamite within the
room-and-pillar mines was done
predominantly by hand by the miners.
However, after the coal was extracted,
it was carried out of the mines through
Lighty, Robin G. "Pennsylvania Annual
the assistance of donkeys/mules/horses Reports on Mining Activities."
and rail car systems, as seen in the CoalMiningHistoryPA.org. Accessed October
image to the right. 1, 2021.
http://www.coalmininghistorypa.org/

After its removal from the mines, the

coal is then transported across the nation predominantly over
rivers and railroads.
Though a great
form of
transportation, the
canals
experienced a
steady decline
after railroads had
arrived in the coal
industry.
According to Pennsylvania newspapers at the time, anthracite
coal from the east near Philadelphia was transported over
rivers, such as the Schuylkill, to cities such as Baltimore and
New York.

Though sent out west from Philadelphia as well, it was the

western side of Pennsylvania--near Pittsburgh and central
cities--that reached most western cities across the United
States.
Check out the map below to discover the migration routes
across the nation.

VITA, Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, EPA Powered by Esri

Lighty, Robin G. "Pennsylvania Annual Reports on Mining Activities."

CoalMiningHistoryPA.org. Accessed October 1, 2021.
http://www.coalmininghistorypa.org/newspapers/article_1870.htm.

Miners:
 Lighty, Robin G. "Pennsylvania Annual Reports on Mining Activities."
CoalMiningHistoryPA.org. Accessed October 1, 2021.
http://www.coalmininghistorypa.org/

Coal mining is, dark, dirty, and dangerous. Those who worked
in the mine would descend far into the earth and run the risk
of mines collapsing or catching fire, and/or long term health
defects, such as coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP),
commonly known as "black lung disease." This occurs when
coal dust is inhaled. Over time, continued exposure to the coal
dust causes scarring in the lungs, impairing one's ability to
breathe, and can cause serious damage to ones respiratory
system.

Despite these risk, coal was the main

labor option for most of the late 18th -
early 20th century in Pennsylvania,
and many individuals (predominantly,
but not exclusively, men and young
boys) chose to become coal miners.
Some as young as nine descended into
the ground, and many worked their
whole lives tirelessly beneath the
earth's surface.

In addition to the coal dust, the air also

contained deadly gases, such as carbon
monoxide and methane. Famously,
coal miners used canaries to detect
these dangerous gases. More sensitive
Lighty, Robin G. "Pennsylvania Annual
Reports on Mining Activities."
CoalMiningHistoryPA.org. Accessed October
1, 2021.
http://www.coalmininghistorypa.org/

to the colorless, odorless poisonous

gases than humans, if the canaries became ill or died, miners
knew it was time to evacuate. Effective but inhumane, this
tradition ended in 1986.
Since the coal industry created a huge
demand for unskilled laborers, many
southern and eastern European
immigrants with vastly different
cultures, languages, and ethnic
allegiances made their way to
Pennsylvania and settled into coal
towns. Italians, Polish, Slovaks,
Russians, Lithuanians, Germans, Irish,
Greeks, and other groups speaking a
cacophony of languages created ethnic
neighborhoods/blocks with their own
Lighty, Robin G. "Pennsylvania Annual
institutions, religious avenues, and
Reports on Mining Activities."
social clubs. (Across the state, many of CoalMiningHistoryPA.org. Accessed October
these clubs and institutions still stand 1, 2021.
today.) At first the vast majority spoke http://www.coalmininghistorypa.org/

little or no English, and clung to their

separate cultures, but later transformed in a process of
assimilation and cultural survival that was at the heart of the
immigrant experience. Working side by side, day in and day
out in the coal mines contributed to this process.

Coal towns, such as the one seen to the right here, developed
near the mines and along railroad and canal routes connected
to the industry. Many were built by the company who owned
the local mine(s). Companies built hospitals, hotels, recreation
halls, schools, and stores for miners and their families. Since
the towns needed to be put up in a hurry, many of the homes
 for the miners were built side by side in similar architecture
and design, which became an aesthetic characteristic of coal
(and larger industry) towns. It was in these towns though that
the ethnic culture of the miners and their families flourished.

Modern Mines: Pennsylvania Today

The coal industry has been on the decline in recent decades
and especially in the 21st century. Environmental concerns,
struggling infrastructure, and newer forms of energy have
caused many mines to close, and new generations of
Americans have gone off to different careers that required
more specialization than their ancestors possessed.

Lighty, Robin G. "Pennsylvania Annual Reports on Mining Activities." CoalMiningHistoryPA.org. Accessed October
1, 2021. http://www.coalmininghistorypa.org/
The once flourishing coal towns of Pennsylvania mentioned
above are now just remnants of what they once were. Part of
this decline began with the automobile. The eventual
widespread nature of cars meant workers no longer needed to
live near their work places and now had access to more
employment opportunities. A combination of the freedom that
came with private transport, the mass communication of
radio, and the increase in education saw the isolation of
company towns lessen and the social basis of the company
town become less necessary. Though the row homes still
stand, many of the businesses have closed their doors and
downtowns are now rundown. Communities have maintained
a decent presence, but their populations are also on the
decline. There is a great deal of concern and scholarship
surrounding the future of these towns, but as of now a
prominent solution has yet to be discovered.