Coal Mining and Colleries in and around Saint Clair

Click for larger view. Photo taken at Pine Forest Colliery, which re-opened in 1890. Pictured are, from left to right, Doc Malia, Mr. Taylor, Mr. Wood, Mr. Betz, Cecelia McDonald, Kate McDonald, Mary (McDonald) Frew, Foreman Archibald McDonald, Foreman Mr. Tiley, James McDonald, Tim Clark, and Sam Seitzinger. Front row: three Tiley boys and Joseph Frew.

1892 - Drag Line foreman at Pine Forest received a salary of $7 per week. - Harry Geiger story

Discovery of coal in Schuylkill County was made in 1790. The first shipment of coal to Philadelphia was made in 1800 by William Morris. This was a complete failure due to the fact the many uses of coal were not realized until 1812. In that year Anthracite was first successfully used in an iron furnace at Philadelphia.

Discovery of coal in Saint Clair was made in 1824 and for over 100 years this was the most important industry in the town's history. Deemed the most important vein of coal underlying the town are the Primrose, Mammoth, Orchard, Skidmore, 7-Foot, and Buck Mountain. they range in size from several inches of thickness to nearly 80 feet of thickness, as in the Mammoth vein.

The first coal mine opened was by Pinkerton and Company in 1830. It was located near the old Reading Station on North 3rd Street. The vein of coal was named the Primrose Vein because of the primroses that grew near the mine. Frank Parvin and Alfred Lawton also operated this mine until it closed in the 1850's.

Isaac Beck, a bank teller, discovered the Mammoth vein by noting the coal seam cut through by Mill Creek in 1830. Pinkerton and Company took over this vein in 1835 and produced 100,000 tons of coal per year. The Mammoth was also mined by Samuel Sillyman and E. Evans. This vein allowed mining at Crow Hollow; by the High German Mine on Mt. Hope; by Miles Haywood and Snyder's mine at Pine Forest and another mine on the gun Club Hill. These were all consolidated into one operation by the Boston Consolidated Coal Company in 1864.

In 1850 Pinkerton and Company opened another mine in Samuel Arnot's orchard in Arnots Addition called the "Orchard Vein". This mine was the first to produce mine for outside sales. Pinkerton and Company also opened mines to dig out Buck Mountain and Skidmore veins in the 1870's. These were the slimmest and lowest veins under the town.

Primrose Vein	Opened in 1830 by Pinkerton & Co. Named for the flowers that grew there - end of North 3rd St. Taken over by Frank Parvin.
Parvin's Colliery	Operated 1825 to 1860 by Frank Nichols & Frank Parvin - northeast of St. Clair.
St. Clair Shaft	End of West Carroll St. First vertical shaft. Shaft's fenced in area can still be seen on the land where the Quirin Machine Shop once stood.
Rainbow Colliery	Operated from 1836 to 1868, located in Crow Hollow.
Eagle Colliery	John's Eagle Colliery Opened in 1826 by Frank Haas. Leased to John's Brothers in 1846
Herbine Colliery	Former John's Eagle Colliery.
Saint Clair Coal Co.	Former John's Eagle Colliery & Herbine Colliery. Leased in 1889 and operated until 1957. Took in Skidmore & Buck Mt. veins also. This was the town's largest mine operation.
Hickory Colliery	Operated 1828 to 1874. Located across Mill Creek from the John's Eagle.
Sillyman Tunnel	Operated 1828 to 1846 by Mr. Wetherill. Located in eastern St. Clair.
High German Tunnel	Operated from 1830 to the 1860's by Otterman and Whitenoff. Located in the vicinity of Pine Forest Stripping.
Mt. Hope Colliery	Opened 1848. Near Pine Forest. Closed in 1867
Pinkerton Tunnel	Operated 1830 to 1853 by Pinkerton and Company. Located along Reading tracks on North Third Streets.
Lawton Peacock Colliery	Operated from 1836 to 1852 by Charles Lawton and later by Frank Parvin. Charles Lawton took charge from 1836 to 1848, Parivn from 1848 until it was abandoned in 1852.
Skidmore Vein	One of the most important veins of coal found in St. Clair. Discovered by John Pinkerton & Co. Veins were from 10" to 14" in thickness. ( See Thirty Slope) Located West of St. Clair - Burma Road
Buck Mountain Vein	One of the most important veins of coal found in St. Clair. Discovered by John Pinkerton & Co. Veins were from 10" to 14" in thickness. ( See Thirty Slope)Located West of St. Clair - Burma Road
The Hooker Colliery	End of East Carroll & Price Streets. Began operation in the early 1870's and ceased opreating following W.W.I. and was torn down.. Was once known as the Jackson Colliery. During the 1930's & 40's it was the scene of "bootleg" coal operations. Today, there is still a bit of the culm bank remaining and a little bit of the foundation.
Repplier Colliery	Located in Dark Water. Active in the 1850's and still advertising in 1938.
Thirty Slope	An experimental mining system beginning in 1968 comprised of the Skimore & Buck Mountain veins. The first suspended monorail system in the United States. It is a West German monorail system.
Pine Forest	Part of the Mammoth Vein. Opened in High Germany by Benj. Milnes, Benj. Haywood and George Snyder in 1845. In the general area of the High Germany Tunnel, Sillyman, & Mt. Hope veins. In November of 1866 the owners sank a vertical shaft, but ventilation was a problem. In 1872 Snyder sold the colliery to the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron Company. In 1890 the colliery was re-opened but closed down again in 1899. Reading Anthracite operated the Pine Forest strip mining until 1986.

The first coal miner's union in the United States was formed in Saint Clair. In 1868, John Siney organized the WBA (Workingman's Benevolent Association). It was formed to protect families with injured workers and makes mines safer to work in. A predecessor of the WBA was the Bates Union. It was organized by John Bates in 1840. Mr. Bates was also a St. Clair native. The UMWA arrived in the early 1900's and is still in action today. A monument was dedicated to John Siney on November 1, 1900 and is located in St. Mary's Cemetery. To learn more about John Siney, follow this link.

This map will give you an idea of the locations of various collieries and "patches" located in and around Saint Clair. (Click for larger view)

In 1968 an independent operator reopened the No. 30 slope with an innovative underground monorail system, this experimental method was the first of its kind in our country. The venture did not last and closed down after only operating a few years.

In 1976, the year of our country's bicentennial, mining in the St. Clair area consisted of two large open pit mines; one at Pine Forest another in Wadesville. Pine Forest stripping closed in 1986. Today the open pit mine in Wadesville has expanded so much many of the homes and churches were torn down to mine the coal underneath. The recent picture below was taken on a spot where several houses stood only a few years ago.

The Hooker Colliery

Located at the eastern end of Carroll Street, east of Morris Street above Lawton Street.

This was the site of the Jackson Colliery opened by the Mount Hope Coal Co. in the 1870's. When the Jackson closed, it was reopened as the Hooker Colliery which operated until 1817.

Bootleg Miner at Hooker workings in the 1970's

BOOTLEG MINING

The Hooker Colliery closed shortly after WWI - today there are still some remains of the silt bank

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