Along the Greene River Trail
Dilworth Mine
First Commercial Coal Mine
“Commercial” coal mining in Greene County began in 1902 when the Dilworth Coal Company produced 36,400 tons of Pittsburgh coal from its mine at Rices Landing on the Monongahela River. This appears to be the first mine in Greene County that was supervised and regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Mines.
The Dilworth Coal Company was chartered in August 1901. Capitalized at $300,000, its directors were H.P. Dilworth, Frank E. Richardson, Newton Hemphill, and J. Marshall Lockhard, all of Pittsburgh. The officers were H.P. Dilworth, president; George M. Dilworth, secretary; and C.B. McLean, treasurer.
The mine was located on a 150-acre tract and initially extracted coal from an 800-acre area along the Monongahela River. Development began shortly after the company was chartered. By November 1901 an air shaft and a hoisting shaft, each 145 deep and about 300 feet apart, were sunk to the ten-foot thick Pittsburgh or “river vein” of coal. To accommodate its laborers and miners, the company built 45 houses and was planning to build 50 more. By March 1902, the company had invested about $400,000 in the enterprise. All coal was shipped by company boats to the Pittsburgh market.
By 1905, the Dilworth Mine was the only mine included in the bituminous section of the Annual Report of Pennsylvania’s Department of Mines for Greene County. In that year, it had produced 105,000 tons of coal from the Pittsburgh seam. There were 128 men employed and the superintendent was James Black.
In 1914, Rices Landing Coal and Coke Company acquired the mine and 190 coke ovens located along the river. A few years later, they sold to H.C. Frick Coke Company.
The Dilworth Mine continued in operation after World War I when many mines had closed and the industry was declining. It continued to produce coal until its closure in 1928.
The Dilworth Mine was re-opened in 1974 by United States Steel Corporation with different entrances. It was sold to Consolidation Coal Company in 1984 and closed in 2002.
About the Greene River Trail Signage Project
Greene County Tourist Promotion Agency completed this project in partnership with the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area. Funding was provided in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, administered by Rivers of Steel.
Special thanks to: Brice & Linda Rush, Danielle Nyland, Flenniken Public Library, Greene County Historical Society, Greene Connections, Advanced Masonry, Greene County Commissioners, Greene County Conservation District, and Greene County Department of Recreation.
