The original operator of Valley mine and beehive coke works was Wilson, Boyle and Playford Co., who opened it circa 1870. H.C. Frick Coke Co., who had so many operations on nearby Galley Run, leased Valley in 1877, followed by Frick purchasing it in 1880. The coal and coke works at Valley ceased operations in 1918.
Dec. 2003 image by author
Here are the ruins of the Valley coke works. Some of these ovens may have been built as early as 1869.
Dec. 2003 image by author
A closer look at these beehive coke ovens.
Feb. 2003 image by author
A few remaining company-built houses for the workers of the Valley coke works on the edge of Everson. Most of the patch and the company store are gone now. The patch was actually over the hill from the coke ovens. For once someone must have cared about the mining families living with all of the smoke and dirt.
Feb. 2003 image by author
Another view of the former company houses.
Copy of map loaned to author by USX Resources
Portion of map with red arrow indicating the location of the above "patch" houses in relation to the Valley works, company store, nearby Home coke works, and Everson, Pa. In 2019 I looked for Home works and couldn't find any remains whatsoever.
Sources:
Vivian, Cassandra. Henry Clay Frick and the Golden Age of Coal and Coke, 1870-1920. McFarland & Company, Inc. 2020.
Topographical Map of the Connellsville Coke Region, Plate IV, H.C. Frick Coke Co., 1893.
