Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/248

 COLUM BIA AND M ONTOUR COUNTIES COAL M IN IN G

T he height o f M cA u ley mountain brings it w ithin the limit o f ffie Pottsville con­ glom erate, which lies together with the strata of anthracite. These deposits are the only <»ies in the county outside o f Conyngham township, and are sm all in area and difficult to mine, ow in g to their great height above the v al­ ley. T h is coal had been noted in 1826, during the su rveyin g of the C ataw issa railroad, but it was not till the opening o f that road in 1S 5 3 (hat the capitalists turned their attention to these deposits. T h e M cA u ley railroad w as incorporated in 1854 to run through B eaver valley an d connect with the C ataw issa road, a distance o f five miles. In 18 55 C harles B . Pen­ rose, L e e W . Buffington and Jo h n C . Sim s formed th e Colum bia Coal and Iron Com pany, with a cap ital o f $500,000. and in 1858 they look in the railroad com pany. T h e building of the ro ad and breakers and the opening o f mines w e re accomplished in the succeeding years, and in 1867 the first coal shipments were made fro m the M cA uley codicry. T h e bright prospects of the com panies w ere not to he realized, h o w ever, fo r in five years a fte r the first shipm en t o f coal the mines were prac­ tically exh au sted . T h e railroad tracks and the b reak ers w ere rem oved in 1869. These mines th e re a fte r were operated solely for local (onsumption, under lease. The m in es on the north side of the mountain were opened when the Danville, Hazleton & W ilkes-B arre railroad w as completed. Sim on P. K asc, on e of the prom oters of the railroad, built the b re a k e r of the B eaver V'allcy Coal Company in 1864. and ow in g to the refu sal of the ^ t a w i s s a railroad ow ners to run a Unc zkmg the 5k;otch valley he promotetl the new road. H e leased the colliery to J . H . Losee in 1871 fo r ten years. It w as then idle fo r five years. In 1 8 ^ Jam es and M ary M cA lam cy undertook to operate it. and were follow ed by Joseph D onncllan. It is at present iKing oper­ ated by E . M . Cook, o f Boston. M ass.. the local fuperintcndcfit being H arry E . K eip cr. T he work is being done by means o f a steam shovel, and consists o f stripping o f! the top layers o f rock, and soil to get at the upper layers o f coal left by fo rm e r w orkers. W hen this layer is removed the m ines w ill be entirely exhausted. .As the first m iners did not know that the coal deposits w ere in basins they mined in a haphazard w a y, thus m aking the w ork of the later owners v e ry difficult. M odem methods may prove m ore profitable to the present own)4

209

ers than those of the coal operators of the past were. In B u ck mountain, in the southeastern part o f this township, are mines which fo r many years were worked by the B u ck Mountain Coal Com pany, in m ore recent y e ars by C oxe Brothers & Co., but now operated by m e L e ­ high V alley Coal Com pany, which has them leased. T h e coal is loaded on cars at Gowen and sent to Hazleton, where it is prepared fo r market. A t the time of the opening of the railroad and coal mines a town w as laid out in, Scotch valley and named "G lc n C ity ." A t one time it boasted a number o f residences o f workmen and a post office. T he station of the Pennsyl­ vania railroad is now a h alf m ile east o f me town site and all that rem ains of the projected town is a long siding, fo r passing freight trains. T h e station is now called Scotch V olley, and lias three houses and a store. T h ere is scarcely room between the mountains fo r anything else. T h e gristm ill at MtfHin C rossroads is entirely gone and there are but a few houses to m ark the site o f that once prosperous village. N ear the edge of the county, p artially in Luzerne, were the grounds of the M ountain G ro ve Camp M eeting Association, which met annually there, being attended from this and adjoining coun­ ties. T h e association dissolved some years ago. H ere the valley opens out into the fertile farm s o f Luzerne county, in great contrast to the narrow valleys and high mountains of the eastern part o f Columhia county. I I. M. H ess, from S u g a rlo a f township, has settled here on the edge of the county, having the last farm on the end o f M cC auley mountain. RELIGIOUS

T h e first M ethodist sermon heard in B eaver township w as delivered in 1 8 1 5 at the home o f D avid D avis, on the road crossing C ataw issa creek in the extrem e southeastern part of the township. R evs. D aw son, R hoads, T aneyhill am i M onroe preacheil there fo r some time, the latter in the y e ars 18 2 2 -23 organizing a con­ gregation .and building the present church near the county line. T h e Methodist congregation disbanded in 1872 and the Evangelical denom­ ination has since held services in the church, the pastors coming from Schuylkill county. S t. P eter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, form erly called H argcr’s Church, is located on the side o f M cC auley mountain, on one of the coldest spots in the township during the winter. It is the only union edifice in the southern part o f Columbia county, being used also by the