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/56

 COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES T lie Bast, Monroe and B ear City collieries have been abandoned. With the exception of the colliery at Locustdale, all the mines are now under the control of the Lehigh Valley R ailroad Company. T hree mines lu v e been opened since the above table was published, the Kcpcllier and the M idvalley Nos. 1 and 3. I'fom the mines in Conyngham and Beaver townships durine 1 9 13 there were produced 1,0 7 8 4 8 1 tons o f anthracite coal. Based on the average wholesale selling price o f $2.38 per ton, the value o f this coal w as $2,560,* 784.78, or almost one and three tenths per cent of the total production o f hard coal in the State. The average cost of mining was $2.07 per ton. Although the early ironmasters o f Danville often prospected for coal in various parts of Montour county their efforts were never re­ warded by success. It remained fo r the drouth o f 19 14 to reveal the hidden veins of anthracite to two farm ers of the vicinity of Exchange, who were seeking deeper veins o f w ater for their stock. F o r many years Ju d ge J. L. Branncn of Exchange had n o t k ^ in the bed of the Chillisquaquc rounded fragments o f coal, hut he did not seek to ascertain their source. In CM ober o f 19 14 P. C. Dcnnen and William Houghton, farm ers of the neighborhood o f Exchange, about the same date dug new wells, both going to a depth o f over seventy feet. A t that depth they simultaneously struck a stratum of anthracite coal, measuring from three to four feet in thickness, which on test­ ing proved to be o f similar character to the best product of the hard coal regions. The coal lies in the usual basin-shaped form so characteristic o f this grade o f fuel, and will be worked by "stripping” and shafts. The quantity and extent of the deposit have not yet been demonstrated. A long the Susquehanna river arc a number o f dredges, which operate in low stages of w ater, bringing up from the river bed the coal which has d rih cd down in flood lime. T his coal, unlike the soft variety, will not disinte­ grate. During 1 9 13 these dredges washed out 133,986 tons o f salable coal.

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T he coal is washed into the river from the culm banks, where the slate sinks into the crevices, while the coal floats down slowly and steadily, year by year, until it is lifted to the surface by the dredges. Most of the coal taken out has been in the water at least thirty years, as its rounded shape would indi­ cate. The dredges arc simple and their cost is low, about $ 2 (m covering engine and boat. OTIIEK M INLKALS

No estimate can be lu d regarding the pro­ duction o f lime and limestone, or cement There are a number o f large and small plants in botli counties, most o f which cater to the local trade. A t one time the slate mines near Buckhom were a source o f profit to their owners, but they have been abandoned for many years. T he production o f galena or lead ore is so small as to l>e o f little interest to the reader, the greatest quantity being insufficient to w ar­ rant exploitation. It is obtained in connec­ tion with the limestone at mines near Lime Ridge and Espy. In this connection reference m ay be made to the copper deposits o f Sugarloaf township, which arc o f no real value, but were consid­ ered valuable by (he promoters of the company who built the smelter near Central and sank a large sum o f money in the vain endeavor to reduce the ore commercially. STATE REPORTS

According to the reports received by the State Geological Survey the mineral produc­ tion o f Columbia and Montour counties showed a decline in 19 13 o f over $125,000. as compared with 19 12. T his is in marked contrast with most of the counties of the State and to the State a s a whole, which showed a very distinct increase in value. The products reported w ere brick and tile, anthracite coal, sand and gravel, pottery, lime­ stone and lime. It is impossible to give the details o f production, without itemizing the individual output.

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