Named by H.D. Rodgers of the First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, the first reference to the Pittsburgh coal bed was on a 1761 map. In the mid 1700s at Fort Pitt, coal was being mined on Coal Hill, or as it is known now, Mount Washington. The coal was extracted from drift mines in an outcrop about 200 feet above the Monongahela River.
From the outside, Eva K. Bowlby Public Library fits right in with all the other the stately homes on North Richhill Street, built during Greene County’s first gas and oil boom days. Wildcatters and lucky leaseholders of the early 20th century brought their sudden wealth to Waynesburg’s north side and converted pastureland into dream homes. The hillside behind the library was once a turkey farm.
In 1911, the Crucible Coal Company began to develop Greene County’s second largest mine. Located along the Monongahela River, less than two miles south of Rices Landing, the high quality coal from the Pittsburgh seam was to be shipped to Midland to be converted to coke for the company’s new steel mill.
“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.
Early coal mining in Greene County began with settlers using drift mining to mine the outcrops of coal along the creeks and the Monongahela River, usually for personal use. Later small mining companies were mining coal.
If you have been on the Greene River Trail recently, you might have noticed something new. Twenty informational signs were placed along the trail highlighting coal mining, the W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop, the Monongahela River, and wildlife.
Each week, we will release a new blog highlighting one of the signs you will find along the Greene River Trail. Follow along with us – or head out to the trail and see the signs for yourself!
We have our share of Native American Sites to be sure. Burial grounds, carved and painted rocks and caves. But there is one amazing artifact that remains that’s been overlooked in all the histories, guide books and in our own living memory. The Indian Trail Tree.
Born from a fiery gospel writ from burnished rows of steel. Smoke lay heavy under the canopy of the trees and confusion was rampant. The order to “Fire at Will” was given, and shots rang out from all directions. It was difficult to see who was on your left and right. All you had to follow were the commands from the Captain, barely audible and muffled by the sound of rifles firing.
Just before the start of the Civil War legislation was passed in Pennsylvania, and many other states throughout the country, for each county to establish houses to care and support the poor. These houses often started out as converted family homes, usually beginning small in scale and expanding greatly over time.
For more than a century, one advertising campaign used an unusual medium to feature the same message: “Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco: Treat Yourself to the Best.” The ad and accompanying slogan – painted on barn sides first regionally, then across the country – was the marketing campaign of the Bloch Brothers Tobacco Company of Wheeling, West Virginia.