Western Middle Anthracite Coalfield Misc.

March 2026 image by author Evening sun on the rail loading area behind Reading Anthracite's Girard Breaker (visible in background).
March 2025 image by author An incredible mountainside of culm near Shamokin.
April 2024 image by author Coal company "patch" houses, perhaps built by the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company for employees of their Gilberton Colliery and Draper Colliery mines. This is still called Quality Hill, possibly indicating that the houses were for mine foremen or other supervisors, although they are duplex and not single family homes.
April 2024 image by author Another section of coal company houses in Gilberton known as Long Row.
March 2024 image by author Anthracite coal breaker near Gilberton, Pa.
2010 image by Mashuga Coal company "patch town" at William Penn, Pa. Actually, there are two communities: West William Penn and East William Penn. William Penn Colliery opened in 1864 by Samuel E. Griscom & Co. to mine coal for iron manufacturing in Reading, Pa. (Actually, three other men opened the drift portal into the Mammoth seam earlier that year, but Griscom legally outmaneuvered them to take over the lease.) It later became a property of William Penn Coal Co.
Image courtesy of undergroundminers.com One of the biggest anthracite coal mining operations was Glen Burn at Shamokin, Pa. The breaker was demolished in the late 1980s , but this refuse head house remained well into the 21st century. This was where the cars containing coal refuse came up an incline from the breaker and were dumped. This was probably one of the last inclines in use at an American coal mine.
1992 image by Doug Lilly The Saint Nicholas breaker in Schuylkill County was the last historic breaker in eastern Pennsylvania. Despite heroic efforts to save it, demolition began in 2015. It's a shame that not even one of the once ubiquitous breakers were preserved in the Coal Region. A few modern breakers are still working, though.

St. Nicholas was named after the existing "patch town" and colliery that was at this location that predated the central breaker's construction in 1931. St. Nicholas was a decent sized coal village, but was gradually destroyed through the 20th century. Only a handful of houses and a church remain.

April 2025 image by author These remaining small structures (scale houses and pump house for St. Nicholas's Dorr thickener) are all that remains of St. Nicholas. The breaker would have been right behind these.
April 2025 image by author A few Reading and Northern railroad cars with the remains of Boston Run / Wiggins patch town in the background. This was the site of bitter labor disputes between mine guards and the Molly McGuires in the 1870s. One particular violent episode is still known as the Wiggins Patch Massacre.
April 2025 image by author This company housing from Tunnel Ridge Colliery is known as Cole's Patch. It is probably named after George W. Cole, the operator of Tunnel Ridge. Cole started mining at this location in 1863 or "64 (sources vary) on a lease from Philadelphia & Mahanoy Company. Cole operated Tunnel Ridge into the mid 1870s, when groundwater became problematic in the mines. In 1878, Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. became the owner and operator of Tunnel Ridge Colliery. This firm, the largest coal producer in the area, leased Tunnel Ridge to Joseph B. Cole from 1890 to 1892. In 1893, P. & R. took Tunnel Ridge back. Production was good and in 1897 a new breaker was constructed. In 1899 Philadelphia & Reading installed pneumatic power into the mine and mules were replaced. P. & R. C. & I. Co. operated Tunnel Ridge until 1934. At the end of its life, Tunnel Ridge production and employment was low and a lot of tonnage came from remining the culm bank. In addition to Cole's Patch, P.& R. also owned company housing in Mahanoy City boro. Some Tunnel Ridge employees may have also lived in these houses, and some of them are still in existence into the 21st century.
March 2025 image by authour Tourist coal mine at Ashland, Pennsylvania named Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and Steam Train. Pioneer Colliery opened in the 1850s. In 1872, the mighty Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. became the operator. The Pioneer breaker not at this portal, but over the hill at the railroad. In the 20th Century, this tunnel accessed the Bancroft Colliery's Buck Mountain vein workings. Bancroft was another P. & R. C. & I. mine. Bancroft's breaker was just a short distance away from the location of the original Pioneer Breaker. Bancroft underground mining turned into strip mining that was processed at nearby Locust Summit breaker before being abandoned in 1932.
March 2025 image by author This head frame from a vertical shaft was saved from demolition and moved to Pioneer Tunnel from its original location at North Mahanoy Colliery.
April 2025 image by author Photo showing the Blaschak breaker in the background and the birch trees that are so ubiquitous to this area.
March 2025 image by author The owner of Fetterman Equipment & Coal Co. demonstrates the dumping operation of one of his coal trucks. His grandfather started the company, so it is a family tradition.
March 2025 image by author The Blaschak Anthracite breaker where Mr. Fetterman loads his trucks. This breaker dates back to 1955.
March 2025 image by authour Dewatering the coal in front of the breaker. From all appearances, all environmental laws and regulations are being followed at this operation. Measures are taken to minimize or eliminate pollution.
March 2025 image by authour Fetterman Coal makes a delivery to a customer
March 2025 image by author Coal discharging through a gate from the bed of the Fetterman Coal. It will slide down a chute and into the coal cellar of the house.
March 2025 image by author A bucket of anthracite coal ash in the basement of Mr. Fetterman's customer's house. In this house, coal is fed by an auger from the coal cellar into the furnace. The operation is controlled by a thermostat up in the house.
March 2025 image by author The historic architecture of the small city of Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania.
March 2025 image by authour Near Ranshaw, Pa. can be found these anthracite coal mine ruins. On the right is a mid-20th century coal processing plant (perhaps to process coal that was either stripped or reprocessed from a nearby culm dump) and, at the left rear, an older breaker.
March 2025 image by author A closer look at the deteriorating breaker on the edge of Ranshaw. This was the site of Buck Ridge Colliery breaker and parts of this (farther up on the hill) may even be original to that historic breaker. The lower part is obviously a 20th century addition.

Buck Ridge Colliery was a property of Philadelphia and Reading Coal & Iron Co. in the late 1800s. It was abandoned in 1900. In 1903 Buck Ridge Coal Mining Co. leased the property and opened Buck Ridge No. 1 & 2 mines. Buck Ridge Coal Mining was incorporated in 1911, and finally bought the Buck Ridge property outright in 1923. Not long after, the firm was mired in legal troubles. The next operator of Buck Ridge was Puritan Coal Mining Co. Finally, Junior Coal Co. wound down Buck Run's operations with small production for local consumption in 1931-32.

March 2025 image by author Bear Valley No. 2 patch in Northumberland County. At the edge of Shamokin is a sign with arrow pointing to "Bear Valley Patches." First the traveler comes to No. 1 and then No. 2 and then a gate in the road. No. 3 would have been out past the gate, and a few of its houses still existed into the 1980s, but it no longer exists. In 1863-64, Bear Valley Colliery was opened by Shamokin & Bear Valley Coal Co. In the 1870s, the various Bear Valley mines were operated by Huin & Goodwill / Goodwill & Co. / Hime & Goodwell (records disagree on the spelling). At times, the mighty Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. was the lessor and at times it was also the operator. After circa 1878 it was the operator. This huge company not only was by and large the most productive anthracite coal producer in the region, it also owned the railroad that carried the coal away from the collieries. Bear Valley maintained oscillating but high production until Philadelphia & Reading sold it to Bear Valley Coal Co. in 1938. This firm idled the mine in June 1939. Coal & Iron Co. began stripping and remining the culm banks at Bear Valley during World War 2. At some point, stripping in Bear Valley exposed the famous "whaleback" anticlinal rock formation.
March 2025 image by author This boarded up portal at the edge of Shamokin was a rock slope that goes into the old workings of the Henry Clay and Sterling (sometimes spelled Stirling) mines. The "1934" date on the lintel is after Philadelphia Coal & Iron closed Henry Clay (in 1932). It is a drainage / pumping portal. Henry Clay Colliery opened circa 1860. After it was closed, the culm bank was remined in the 1930s and 40s.
April 2025 image by author Coal mine lands near Ellan Gowan, Pa.
April 2025 image by author Row Houses in Mahaony City.
April 2025 image by author Modern strip mining behind a remnant structure from North Mahanoy Colliery. There were once portals and shops of North Mahanoy at this location. This operation lasted from 1860 until 1931. This area along Mahanoy Creek was one of the sites of Molly Maguires struggles for better treatment of coal miners.
April 2025 image by author This coal company patch town is Park Place, Pa. It is an outgrowth of an operation began in 1861 known as Copley (sometimes spelled Coplay). Lentz and Bowman operated this mine until the early 1880s. Lentz must have picked up some new partners, because from 1883 until 1886 the mine was renamed Park No. 1 and reported as being owned by Lentz, Lilley & Co. (A sister mine, Park No. 2, opened nearby - see below.) Continuing under the Lentz, Lilley & Co. banner, the colliery was at times known as Park No. 1 and at other times Springdale until it was abandoned in 1897.
April 2025 image by author Shown here is the Trenton patch town. Park Place / Park No. 1's neighbor was Trenton Colliery that was opened in 1864 by Wooley and Barton. Later, a Mr. Atkinson operated it until 1875, when it closed (perhaps due to flooding, a common problem at that time.) It was reopened as Park No. 2 in 1883 by Lentz, Lilley & Co. Different seams of anthracite coal were mined at Park No. 2 by Lentz, Lilley & Co. until 1903 when it became Park Place Colliery operated by Lentz & Co. In 1909 the name was changed to Lentz Coal Co. By that time there were four Park mines feeding the breaker. Lehigh Valley Coal Co. began operating Park Colliery on July 1, 1911. Lehigh Valley wound down Park No. 2 in 1933, but began stripping the area. In 1935, Lehigh Valley again reported production from Park mines, Park stripping, and remining of the culm bank. Centralia Collieries Co. also mined at Park in 1938. Other companies that mined Park No. 1 and No. 2 coal in the 1940s and 50s included Northeast Mining Co., Delano Anthracite Collieries Co., Alpec Coal Co., and Rhodes Co. After 90 years, mining ceased in the 1950s.
April 2025 image by author Looking down on the Trenton patch from the hill above. Some of these houses may date to the 1880s when Lentz reopened Trenton as Park No. 2.
March 2025 image by authour This was a rock slope into the Skidmore vein of Primrose Colliery. Primrose was opened by Steel & Patterson in 1862 or '63 (not this portal, though). The next operator was Caldwell & Connant / Caldwell & Co., who operated Primrose until they leased it to Nevills & Co. in 1872. From that time until 1893, the mine reported to the state of Pennsylvania as being alternately operated by either Nevills & Co. or Primrose Coal Co. During this time, Primrose Colliery was very much a small to medium-sized producer. Production records go dark in 1894-95, perhaps because the underground works were flooded. Lehigh Valley Coal Co. took over Primrose Colliery in 1896 and the workforce and coal production began to get larger. The breaker was remodeled and updated in 1899. Lehigh Valley continued to operate Primrose Colliery until 1914, when the operation disappears from state mining records. At that time, Primrose may have been subsumed into Lehigh Valley's nearby Park Colliery.
April 2025 image by author A view down the Primrose rock slope. In 1900, three men perished from smoke inhalation in a Primrose Colliery mine fire. About these deaths, the local mine inspector wrote, "No intelligent miner would have attempted to travel through the smoke, but would have retreated to the outlet to surface, which was only 2,500 feet from where they worked to the outcrop ... How this fire originated remains a mystery, as no signs of fire or smoke were discovered up to the time that work ceased in the colliery. The alarm of fire was given by the night pumping engineer. When it was discovered that the three men had not arrived home, a party of men, under the leadership of James O'Donnell, mine foreman, entered the mine at the outlet, traveled westward along the gangway to a door a few feet east of where the men were found, which showed that the men did not meet with any smoke or gas until they opened the door. It was the opinion of some that the lamp of a driver, riding up the slope on his mule, might have touched some of the dry timber, which has been the cause of a few mine fires in this district."
April 2025 image by author Other remnants of men mining anthracite coal for Primrose Colliery can be found near the rock slope portal. I'm not sure whether Primrose featured its own company housing or if the miners lived in nearby Mahanoy City.
April 2025 image by authour Shown is the Buck Mountain patch town in Mahanoy Township, Schuylkill County. There was also a Buck Mountain mine and town in neighboring Luzerne County that opened in 1840. This older Buck Mountain was probably the source of the name of the Buck Mountain vein of anthracite coal.

In 1883, some of the workers of the old Buck Mountain mine came to the Mahanoy City area to open a new Buck Mountain mine. Buck Mountain Colliery was operated by Buck Mountain Coal Co. until 1889. Mill Creek Coal Co. was the next operator of Buck Mountain beginning in 1890. In the summer of 1897, new company houses were constructed. The houses shown above may date from that time. Also, the "coal houses" where the company deposited coal for the mining families to use were rebuilt away from the older company houses due to being a fire hazard. The older company houses were also repainted. Mill Creek continued to mine at Buck Mountain into the new century. An explosion in Buck Mountain mine killed seven workers on November 9, 1900. By 1908-09, drainage in the Buck Mountain mines had become very bad, exacerbated by a drainage tunnel built in the neighboring Park Place mines. Lehigh Valley Coal Co. took over Buck Mountain in 1910 and improved mine drainage conditions. L.V. also began construction of a new breaker that would serve both Buck Mountain and nearby Vulcan Colliery, both of which they purchased from Mill Creek C.C. In 1914, "extensive repairs" were made to the patch houses. Lehigh Valley continued the Buck Mountain operations for many more years, including some years that saw organized labor strife.

April 2025 image by author Coal cars sitting on the once large St. Nicholas rail yard of Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. In the background is part of Gilberton Coal Co.
April 2025 image by author This "patch town" is New Boston, Pa. Coal was discovered at this location in 1842, but it wasn't until 1863-64 that New Boston Coal Co. opened a coal mine at this location. The operation went through several operators (White & Co.; Walter, White & Cox, Broad Mountain & Lehigh Coal Co.) in the 1870s. Middle Creek Coal Co. was the operator from circa 1880, and in 1883 this firm first named the mine at New Boston Middle Lehigh Colliery. It would be known alternately as Middle Lehigh Colliery or New Boston Colliery over the years. From the late 1880s until 1891 the property was operated by Middle Creek Coal Co. The 1890s are a murky period of history for Middle Lehigh / New Boston, but around 1903 Mill Creek Coal Co. (which owned nearby Vulcan and Buck Mountain) began pumping out the old works, which included three splits of the Mammoth vein, Skidmore vein, Seven Foot vein, and Buck Mountain Vein. Mill Creek also built a new breaker, and, until the early 1930s, New Boston prospered under their ownership. Mill Creek sold the possibly idled New Boston and active neighboring Morea Colliery to Morea Coal Co. in 1937. After 1940, operators at New Boston included Lykens Coal Co., Morea-New Boston Breaker Corp., and Morea Mining Co.
March 2026 image by author The old mine office and culm dump at Trevorton, Pennsylvania.