KAREN MINE (Maple Glen, PA)
Not much is known about the Karen Mine, a captive coal mine for U.S. Steel. It was opened by the 1950s. Rob Deavers went down to southeastern Washington County
to take a look at the area where the Karen Mine was, and maybe learn a little more about it. He writes, "I talked to a local resident while I was there. He moved into his residence in the early 1970's
and he said the mine was still in operation. When I was a little kid, my parents took us to Ten Mile creek and we always went past there and I don't remember it running, so I'm guessing that it shut
down in the mid to late 70's." Rob took all of these photos as well:
Also a gentleman named John D. wrote in and stated, "U.S. Steel
operated the Karen Mine just north of Vesta 5 on the Monongahela River. A tipple, long gone, crossed PA Route 88, but there are still mine buildings on the riverbank and some large piers in the river (I think). The mine buildings don't look like typical mine buildings. There is no tipple ... That was torn down in the 60s, I think.
Someone has turned that area into a marina. I have a picture of the tipple as seen in the 1950s. If I can find it, I'll send you a scan. Near the Karen mine is a settlement called Maple Glen. I think it's a coal patch."
The preparation plant has been demolished, but evidently this barge loadout remains.
Another view of the back side of the barge loadout.
On the other side of the structure a hole remains where a conveyor belt was removed.
This a "truck dump" type of hopper. One may surmise that after the Karen mine was idled and the plant torn down that
the barge loadout continued serving small "truck mine" coal companies.
The structure with the arched roof was the mine office and bath house. The buildings to the right of that were the "rough storage" and supply houses.
Behind that is the former machine shop.
There is a remnant of a small patch next to the Karen mine site, named Maple Glen, PA. Miners for the Karen Mine might
have lived in these houses, but they were probably not company-owned houses by then. They were possibly constructed by the Charles W. Braznell Company or Maple Glen Coal Company for the Maple Glen mine.
Some other possible miners' homes in Maple Glen, PA