PA Mining

Welcome to the Mines

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Children in the mines worked dangerous jobs often facing long hours and hazardous conditions. Click to explore.

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What makes Pennsylvania unique in its supply of coal?

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KNOX MINE DISASTER

READ FIRST, THEN WATCH

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PENNSYLVANIA MINING TOWNS

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Let's visit a modern mine. Are modern mines safer than mines in the 1800s and 1900s?

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You survived the mines!

Good News! In 1905, Pennsylvania BANNED child labor in the mines. Therefore, you must leave the mine for your safety!

ANTHRACITE COAL

HIGH CARBON CONTENT (MORE CARBON = MORE ENERGY RELEASED)

HARDEST, PUREST COAL

REFLECTIVE

RARE & HARD TO FIND = COSTLY

CLEANER FUEL

Let’s look at what it would have been like to shop at the company store in 1925 if you were a family living there. ​Click the link to begin!

BITUMINOUS COAL

CONTAINS ASPHALT (TAR-LIKE)

MOST ABUNDANT

SOFTER

LOWER CARBON CONTENT

PRODUCES MORE POLLUTANTS

FOUND IN MANY PLACES

On January 22, 1959, the ice-filled Susquehanna River broke through the roof of the River Slope Mine near Port Griffith in Jenkins Township. This caused billions of gallons of river water to flood the interconnected mines, creating a massive whirlpool nearly 200 feet wide. It took three days to stop the flooding by dumping railroad cars, smaller mine cars, coal waste, and other debris into the whirlpool. 69 miners escaped, but 12 miners died, and their bodies were never found. The disaster led to stronger safety rules in mining and marked the end of the Knox Mine, contributing to the decline of the Pennsylvania coal industry.

The formation of the Appalachian Mountains helped create anthracite coal in Pennsylvania. About 250 million years ago, tectonic activity that formed the mountains caused pressure and heat to turn plant material into high-quality anthracite coal. This process also pushed the coal deposits closer to the surface, making them easier to mine. In the late 1700s, the coal was discovered in PA, kicking off PA's steel industry.

Eckley was one of many company towns or "patch towns" built across Northeastern Pennsylvania’s coal fields in the 1800s. These towns were cheaply built and controlled by coal companies to maintain strict control over workers. However, they also show how workers and their families found ways to push back against the companies and create small spaces for independence in a tough environment.

You're just in time to start your shift at the mine! Don't worry too much about labor laws. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, children 8 years and older could work in the mines!

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