May 2005 image by authorA coal camp named Ava, where the coal miners of the Detroit mine lived. Cambridge Collieries closed the Detroit mine in 1912.Jan. 2006 image by authorHere is one of the original coal camp houses in Walhonding, OH. Similar styled housing for coal miners can be found in the neighboring Hocking Coalfield.Jan. 2006 image by authorThe slate dump is the only remaining surficial feature of Cambridge Collieries Walhonding mine.May 2005 image by authorThis is said to be the remains of the powerhouse of the Moss mine.Image from the book "The Immigrant Cocoon" by Dr. Lorle PorterA coal train winds through Trail Run, OH in this vintage photo.Jan. 2006 image by authorThis house is part of the row of houses in the upper left corner of the vintage photograph shown above. Probably built by Cambridge Collieries, it is one of the few remaining coal camp houses in Trail Run, OH.Jan. 2006 image by authorThis was probably was the company store - Trail Run, Oh.Jan. 2006 image by authorTrail Run contained two coal mines. Trail Run No. 1 was operated by the Akron Coal Co., and the No. 2 mine was the domain of Cambridge Collieries. This structure is one of the last remnants of the mines in Trail Run, which closed in 1928.May 2005 image by authorThe former location of the rail switch to the Wills Creek Coal Company's Central Mine, as marked along the The Buckeye Central Scenic Railroad (now the Zanesville & Western Scenic Railroad). My newphew and I enjoyed a pleasant ride from Byesville to Derwent, passing the location of many former coal mines. As we sat in our seats of the rail car and watched the countryside go by, the Master of Ceremonies talked about the history of the area. On the way back to Byesville, this son of a Slovak coal miner produced many mining artifacts, told stories from local coal mines, and played and sang songs relating to coal mining, all while wearing mining attire. He even played us a little accordion, as you might expect from a Slovak-American.Jan. 2006 image by authorThe Cambridge Coal Field attracted many Europenan immigrants in the early 1900s. They brought their religious customs with them from the "old country", and built churches to maintain these customs and faiths in the USA. However, most of the mines in the Cambridge Field closed in the 1920s and 1930s. Since then the immigrants have died, and I would assume that many of their descendents have left the area or assimilated into the American mainstream. This orthodox church in Belle Valley, Ohio named Exaltation of the Holy Cross, has been closed since 1967. It now sits overgrown on a hill overlooking the town.Jan. 2006 image by authorA closer look at the forgotten, forlorn orthodox church.May 2005 image by authorHowever, at least a little bit of the immigrant culture survived in the Cambridge Coalfield into the 21st Century, as evidenced by this sign taped in a window in Byesville.Jan. 2006 image by authorHouses built by the Akron Coal Company to house the miners of their Black Top mine. It was a shaft mine down into the Upper Freeport coal seam, known in Ohio as No. 7 coal seam.Jan. 2006 image by authorThe neighboring coal camp, also operated by the Akron Coal Co., was named Kings Mine.Jan. 2006 image by authorFormer coal company houses at Kipling, Ohio - named after author Rudyard Kipling - with various stages of modifications and addtions. The Akron Coal Company's Klondyke Mine was located here, and it closed in 1921.
As reported in a 1913 issue of Coal Age: "An explosion in the Imperial No. 3 mine, operated by the Imperial Mining Co., Noble County, Ohio, on the evening of May 17, 1913, between the hours of six and seven, at which time 27 men were in the mine. Work was being rushed for the completion of a new motor road, and according to testimony given at the coroner's inquest, no inspection had been made of the working places by the fireboss, and a workman is supposed to have entered one of the rooms, igniting a body of gas. The repair work had cut off the ventilation and permitted the gas to accumulate. Fourteen miners were killed."
