Irwin Gas Coalfield

This coalfield is entirely located in Westmoreland County. It was so named because a section of the Pittsburgh seam was mined here that was ideal for making coal gas. However, there was some beehive coke production in the Irwin Gas Field, though not as much as Connellsville. Transportation was dominated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Mining began circa 1853 near Irwin. The famous Westmoreland Coal Company, the nation's oldest coal company, began here in the 1850s. The field encompasses Salem, Penn, North Huntingdon, Sewickley, South Huntingdon, Loyalhanna, and part of Hempfield Townships. This coalfield is basically exhausted.