AULTMAN, PA

Established in 1912, Aultman is located on Aultman's Run, a small branch from which the town takes its name. It was owned and operated by the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron Company. The Hyde-Murphy Company was awarded the contract to build the company town. A spur from the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway reached the town in December 1912.

The first two mines opened here were initially named Jacksonville No. 3 and No. 4; Jacksonville Mine No. 5 was opened to the south. Coal production peaked in 1928, with 2,000 tons being mined daily. At the time, the town had forty-one double houses, eighty-two single houses, a community hall, a doctor's office, and two foremen's houses. The mine complex was impressive, with the largest tipple in the Jacksonville, Pa., area. The mines were named Aultman No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6. There may have been others.

March 2020 image by author Many of the coal company houses remain at Aultman.

March 2020 image by author This style of company house appears to be one room wide, plus a hallway or stairs. Because of their small size, most have had their porches enclosed to create another room.

March 2020 image by author The white house on the left, which may be abandoned, appears to be a good representation of the original appearance of this kind of coal company house.

March 2020 image by author Larger company houses on another street.

March 2020 image by author There are still enough young families at Aultman that this nice playground was installed.

March 2020 image by author A walking path near the volunteer fire department has been named the "Coal Town Trail." The red arrow points to the concrete slab where the company store used to be located.

March 2020 image by author Door of the former Aultman School.

March 2020 image by author The former Saint Anthony Catholic Church opened in 1918. Before that, Mass was celebrated at the home of the Fronczak family. In 1989 this church, along with the Catholic churches at Iselin and McIntyre, were combined into the Church of the Good Shepherd parish near Jacksonville, Pa.

March 2020 image by author These company houses are located quite a distance from the rest of the town of Aultman, but I believe they are still part of Aultman.

March 2020 image by author The only structure I saw remaining from the coal mining complex was this combination powerhouse and machine shop.

March 2020 image by author A lot of red dog remains in the Aultman slate dump.

Sources:

Rose, Kenneth, editor. Indiana County, Pennsylvania; An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites. 1993.

"Parish History." Church of the Good Shepherd, Kent, www.goodshepherdkent.org/about/Pages/default.aspx.