AULTMAN, PA
Established 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 first named Jacksonville #3 and #4; Jacksonville Mine #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.
Many of the coal company houses remain at Aultman.
This style of company house appears to be 1 room wide, plus a
hallway or stairs. Because of their small size most have had their porches enclosed to create another
room.
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.
Larger company houses on another street.
There are still enough young families at Aultman that this
nice playground was installed.
A walking path near the volunteer fire department has been
named the "Coal Town Trail." Red arrow points to the concrete slab where the company store used
to be located.
Door of the former Aultman School.
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.
These company houses are located quite a distance from the rest
of the town of Aultman. But I believe that they are still part of Aultman.
The only structure I saw remaining from the coal mining
complex was this combination power house and machine shop.
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.
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