USA > Pennsylvania > Tioga County > History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations, portraits and sketches of prominent families and individuals > Part 10
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the valley of the Tioga to Blossburg, and away to the Block House by the Williamson road, ascending the Laurel Ridge Mountain, descending its steep and dan- gerous declivities to Trout Run on the Lycoming, thence continuing to Williamsport, on the west branch of the Susquehanna, and there connecting with a line leading south by the way of Muncy, Milton, Northumberland, Sunbury and Selingsgrove to Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Those were halcyon days. In a large portion of Tioga county the horn of the stage driver is forever silenced by the whistle of the lo- comotive; yet here and there is to be found a gentleman of the " old school," to whom the mention of stage coach- ing brings pleasing memories of the past, like some faint and far-off music, dying sweetly on his ear. To such an one the present generation owes respectful deference, and it should humor his partiality for the days of " auld lang syne."
CHAPTER V.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MINERAL PRODUCTS OF TIOGA COUNTY.
HE coal discovered in 1792 by the Patterson brothers within the present limits of the borough of Blossburg, and which was pro- nounced "good " by the German and English immigrants whom they were conduct- ing to their wilderness homes on the Pultney estate in western New York, has ever since maintained the character which they gave it ninety years ago. In the year 1801 Aaron Bloss came from the eastern portion of New York, on the Hudson River, and settled where the borough of Covington is situated. In 1806 he re- moved to "Peter's Camp," on the Williamson road, which was near where the foundry and machine shop of T. J. Mooers is located; and erected a hotel, purchasing the lands upon which the coal had been discovered. Being situated midway between Painted Post in New York and Williamsport in Pennsylvania this hotel soon became a famous resort and stopping place. He im- mediately proceeded to open the vein of coal, mining it for his own use and securing quite a local trade. The coal, however, began to gain more than a home demand, and its fame soon reached southward into the interior of Pennsylvania, even as far as Philadelphia; and north- ward and eastward into the State of New York, attracting the attention of the legislators of that State. A Mr. Clemmons had also opened up a vein of coal. He resided about two and a half miles north of Aaron Bloss. Thus was taken the initial step in the development and use of the now celebrated Blossburg semi-bituminous coal, which is known far and wide in America and Europe for its superiority in smith- ing, tempering of steel, generation of steam, domestic
45
COAL MINING OPERATIONS.
purposes and coking. It is a large field, embracing the mines at Blossburg, Morris Run, Fall Brook, Arnot and Antrim, and Bache's and Mitchell's mines near Antrim. As early as 1834 the Arbon Coal Company was formed, composed chiefly of gentlemen from Philadelphia, James R. Willson of that city being president, Dr. Lewis Say- nisch of Blossburg one of the stockholders, and James H. Gulick of New Jersey agent. As soon as the railroad was completed to Corning, in 1840, the Arbon Company began shipping coal by rail. The company was then represented by James H. Gulick, Brown Whitney and Franklin R. Smith, and existed for three years, mining and selling within that period 49,633 tons. Another company or firm was then organized, which mined and shipped, from 1844 to 1857, 405, 116 tons.
D. S. Magee was the successor of W. M. Mallory & Co., and concluded the mining at Blossburg for general shipment, after having mined 78,996 tons, making a total of 533,745 mined at Blossburg.
The Tioga Improvement Company opened up mines on the same vein, situated in a direct line eastward two and three-fourths miles, and constructed a railroad from Blossburg to them in the year 1852. On account of the circuitous route which the engineer, Colonel Pharon Jarrett, was compelled to take in order to reach the openings, the railroad is about four miles in length, They are known as the Morris Run mines, and situated on the east and west sides of the narrow valley of a creek known as Morris Run, which discharges its waters into the Tioga River about a mile and a half southeast of Bloss- burg. From 1853 to 1863 this company placed on the market 323, 174 tons, and then leased to the Salt Company of Onondaga, which from 1863 to 1866 mined and shipped 267,809 tons. The Morris Run Coal Company then ob- tained possession, and subsequently the Morris Run Coal Mining Company. Up to January ist 1881 they mined 4,513, 120 tons, and during the year 1881 375,000, making a total since 1853 of about 5,480,000 tons taken from these mines, which are far from being exhausted.
The Blossburg Coal Company was incorporated in 1866. Its mines are situated about four miles southwest of Blossburg, on Johnson Creek, a tributary of the Tioga River. From its organization up to the ist day of January 1881 it mined 2,796,193 tons. The tonnage for the year 1881 was 385,000 tons, making the total 3, 181, 193.
The Fall Brook Coal Company was organized in April 1859. The mines were opened in that year and a few tons shipped. They are located about two miles east of Morris Run, on the east side of Fall Brook, a rapid stream which forms a tributary of the Tioga River four miles southeast of Blossburg. These mines are very ex- tensive, and produce some of the very best coal in the whole Blossburg region. The production from these mines from 1859 to 1873 was about 2,700,000 tons. In the latter year the company commenced shipping coal from Antrim, and the accounts of shipments have been consolidated. The total amount of coal mined by the Fall Brook Coal Company up to January ist 1882 was 4,629,887 tons.
This makes the production of coal in Tioga county, exclusive of that mined for home consumption by local coal mines, about 13,290,000 tons since the commence- ment of the coal trade in 1840. These figures do not include those of Barclay and Carbon Run, in Bradford county, or the McIntyre mines, in Lycoming county, which are in the Blossburg coal field, but only those in Tioga county. Sir Charles Lyell, the celebrated English geologist, in 1841 visited the coal mines at Blossburg, and on returning home published the following account of them:
"It was the first time I had seen the true coal in America, and I was very much struck with its surprising analogy in mineral and fossil character to that of Europe; the same white grits or sandstones as are used for build- ing near Edinburgh or Newcastle; similar black slates, often bituminous, with the leaves of ferns spread out as in an herbarium, the species being for the most part identical with the British fossil plants; seams of good bituminous coal, some a few inches, others several feet thick; beds and nodules of clay, ironstone, and the whole series resting on a coarse grit and conglomerate, containing quartz pebbles very like our millstone grit, and often called by the American as well as English miners ' farewell rock,' because when they have reached it in their borings they take leave of all valuable fuel. Beneath this grit are those red and gray sandstones corresponding in mineral character, fossils and positions with our old red. I was desirous of ascertaining whether a generalization recently made by Mr. Logan in Sonth Wales could hold good in this country. Each of the Welsh seams of coal-more than ninety in number-have been found to rest on a sandy clay or firestone, in which a peculiar species of plant called Stigmaria abounds to the exclusion of all others. I saw the Stigmaria at Blossburg in abundance, in heaps of rubbish extracted from a horizontal seam. Dr. Saynisch, the president of the mine, kindly lighted up the gallery that I might inspect the works, and we saw the black shales in the roof adorned with beautiful fern leaves, while the floor consisted of an under clay, in which the stems of Stig- maria, with their leaves and rootlets attached, were run- ning in all directions. The agreement of these phenom- ena with those of the Welsh coal measures, 3,000 miles distant, surprised me, and led me to conclusions respect- ing the origin of coal from plants not drifted but growing on the spot, to which I shall refer hereafter."
He afterward wrote a letter to Dr. Fitton on the Blossburg coal district Stigmaria, which appeared in the proceedings of the Geological Society of Great Britain, September 2nd 1841. James Macfarlane, A. M., of Towanda, Pa., in his "Coal Regions of America," in speaking of the trade in bituminous and other coals, says:
" Previous to that time (1840-41) the whole sea coast used the Richmond (Virginia) coal for blacksmithing and the manufacture of wrought iron in all its branches. The Cumberland ( Maryland) coal first found its way to market over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1842. The Blossburg region was therefore developed at an early period in the history of the coal trade, in fact be- fore coal of any kind was needed in large quantities for any purpose, there being at that time only Soo,000 tons per annum of anthracite sent to market. [Not far from 24,000,000 tons are now annually mined of anthracite. J. L. S.] Up to the year 1860 the use of Blossburg coal was confined, with unimportant exceptions, to black-
16
HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.
smithing and the use of three rolling-mills at Troy, N. Y., wood being the fuel used for steam purposes, and that in a small way only, in the State of New York. In 1861 the tonnage amounted to 112,712 tons, besides 40,835 tons from the Barclay region. From that period, being the commencement of the war, manufacturing of various kinds requiring the use of coal sprung up in the interior of the State of New York, especially rolling-mills. The railroads commenced to use coal instead of wood in their locomotives, and the salt manufacturers at Syracuse also substituted coal for wood in their salt blocks."
He further says:
"The general geological section in the Blossburg re- gion consists of 333 feet of strata, including five work- able seams of coal, four of which have been worked at various times in the district. The lowest, or Coal A, known among the miners as the Bear Creek vein, is from three to three and a half feet thick, and was worked, as well as the Bloss seam, at the old Blossburg mines by W. M. Mallory previous to 1858. It produced a good steam coal, but it frequently thinned out. The most im- portant seam, and which is worked at all the mines, is B, which is called the Bloss vein, which is from 13 to 29 feet above A. From this seam most of the coal of the region is produced. It is sometimes interlaid with a thin seam of slate, and when this occurs an allowance is made to the miner of a certain sum for each inch of slate, added to his usual price per ton for mining. This system is a very just one, on account of the additional labor. At other localities in the same mines this slate disappears, and the seam presents a clean bed of pure coal from four and a half to five and a half feet in thick- ness."
Since the above was published the Fall Brook Coal Company at Fall Brook has opened on this vein where the coal is seven feet thick. Mr. Macfarlane continues:
" The next seam, which is worked to a limited extent, is 25 to 30 feet higher, and sometimes less, and will be called Coal b, but on account of the heavy bed of fire clay on which it rests it is commonly called the Fire Clay vein. It is a variable seam, from one and a half to three and a half, and sometimes five feet thick when im- purities occur in the middle. It appears to be a 'rider' or satellite of seam B. It produces good coal, and when it appears in its best form it is a valuable seam. It is being mined only in a portion of the field.
"Coal C occurs from 17 to 18 feet higher, and pro- duces a species of cannel coal. In western Pennsylvania this seam C is the great deposit of cannel coal wherever that variety is found; but cannel coal is always liable to become degraded into bituminous shale, and that is its character at Blossburg. This seam is always stigmatized in this region as the Dirty vein or the Slate vein. It is regarded as worthless and has never been mined.
"Next in the ascending order, at an elevation of from seven to twenty feet above the last, is a small seam, only useful as a geological landmark-Coal c, or the Monkey vein as the miners call it, on account of its small size, it being only from one and a half to three and a half feet thick. It has never been opened for mining purposes.
"Coal D is called at Blossburg the Seymour vein, in honor of ex-Governor Seymour, who was a land owner where it was first wrought. It is from three to four and a half feet in thickness, always free from slate, and pro- duces a bright, beautiful-looking coal, of a columnar structure, and an excellent blacksmith coal. It is worked in a portion of the region. Its elevation above the last- named seam is from 30 to 67 feet, but like all the other
intervals of rock this is sometimes much less. Its ele- vation above the Bloss vein is from 114 to 162 feet.
" About fifty feet above the last is Coal E, commonly called the Rock vein on account of the heavy, coarse rock over it, which is sometimes conglomoratic. This seam is from two and a half to three feet thick and in a few localities it is of a better size, but it has never been worked. Fifty-six feet of rock has been measured over this seam, but without coal; and it is not improbable that the foregoing series embraces the whole of the lower coal measures of Pennsylvania.
" Several smaller seams of coal, of about one foot in thickness, sometimes occur, of which no mention has been made. The sections at various places in this and neighboring districts prove what has been before noticed, the remarkable uniformity of the coal seams from mine to mine; even the very small ones all preserving their characteristics everywhere sufficiently to be identified by the miners after a very little examination. On the contrary the intervals of rocks undergo constant and rapid changes, both in their size and the materials of which they are composed. Sandstones, shales and con- glomerate are substituted for each other in the same geological horizon, so that no enumeration that could be made of them would be of much value. If they are governed by any law, the strata of rock seem to thicken up in passing along the basin from northeast to southwest, and the materials of which they are formed must have been carried by numerous currents running across the basin northwest and southeast, so as to form a variety of rock formed of sand, mud and pebbles on the same geological level in going from northeast to southwest, or down the present basin."
We have now given the reader a general idea in re- gard to the relative situation of the various coal seams in the Blossburg coal basin. These veins generally pitch toward the southwest or rise toward the north- east.
An analysis of a specimen taken from the Bear Creek or A vein at Fall Brook was made by A. S. McCreath, of the second Pennsylvania geological survey, and may therefore be relied upon as correct. In describing the specimen Mr. McCreath says:
" The specimen consists of bright columnar coal, with numerous thin partings of mineral charcoal and some iron pyrites; and compact resinous cannel-like coal, having a conchoidal fracture. Water, .790; volatile matter, 20.965; fixed carbon, 65.465; sulphur, .725; ash, 12.055; coke, per cent., 78.225; color of ash, gray."
A specimen of the crystalline coal from the Bear Creek vein (A) yielded on analysis by McCreath: Water, .770; volatile matter, 22.180; fixed carbon, 67.191; sul- phur, .799; ash, 9.060; coke, per cent., 77.050; color of ash, gray.
A specimen of the B or Bloss vein at Fall Brook contained bright crystalline, tender coal, with columnar structure and cubical fracture; also bright, resinous, slaty, cannel-like coal, having a somewhat conchoidal fracture. The constituents were: Water, 1.050; volatile matter, 18.540; fixed carbon, 69.934; sulphur, .661; ash, 9.815; coke, per cent., 80.41; color of ash, gray.
Mr. Platt in his geological report (G) of the Bloss- burg coal basin, in speaking of the Seymour bed at Morris Run, or Coal D, says: "The Seymour bed has
47
THE COAL OF THE BLOSSBURG FIELD.
only been opened up on the crop, and is not shipped to market. As it underlies a considerable area in this region, and is usually of workable thickness, it was deemed advisable to ascertain its character. A speci- men of the coal was taken from under good cover and forwarded to the laboratory at Harrisburg. The coal has a deep black lustre, is very tender and contains an unusually large number of thin partings of iron pyrites. These are generally nothing more than mere knife edges. but the number present in the specimen examined is very unusual. It contained McCreathy: Water, .950; volatile matter, 19.830; fixed carbon, 60.759; sulphur, 6.856; ash, 11.605; coke, per cent , 79 22; sulphur left in coke, 4.375; per cent. sulphur in coke, 5.522; per cent. of iron in coal, 5.558; sulphur taken up by iron, 6.352; free sul- phur, 504; per cent. sulphur volatilized by coking, 36. [ So." Mr. Platt continues: "The above analysis is a striking example of how easily the use of a single specimen for analysis may lead into grave error. The analyses of the Seymour vein from Fall Brook, Arnot and Antrim all show that the Seymour coal carries much more sulphur than the Bloss coal, but is regular in its character, not exceeding two per cent. of sulphur. There is no reason to believe that the average character of the bed at Morris Run is materially different; but it appeared that the lump selected for analysis contained numerous small scales of iron pyrites, not visible save by close examina- tion under a strong glass. It is therefore a totally un- fair representation of the character of the Seymour coal bed in the region between Fall Brook and Arnot, and is only reproduced here to show that the analyses, though perfectly accurate for the specimens forwarded, must be closely scanned in connection with all the other features of the case before they can be accepted as conclusive of character."
A specimen of the B or Blossburg vein at Morris Run, representing the average run of mines, on analysis by McCreath showed the following: Water, 1.120; volatile matter, 18.570; fixed carbon, 72.097; sulphur, .583; ash, 7.630; coke, per cent., 80.33; color of ash, gray.
The coal is generally bright, tender, columnar, and shows a few thin seams of cannel-like coal. It carries some mineral charcoal and a very small amount of py- rites in thin partings. Mr. Platt remarks that "it is scarcely necessary to call attention to the analysis given above; it shows that the Morris Run coal possesses all the attributes of a steam coal, and is very free from in- jurious impurities."
numerous thin partings of iron pyrites and mo dousu illy large amount of mineral charcoal. A coke mide from this coal yielded on analysis McCreath : Water, .220; volatile matter, .625; fixed carbon, 90.650; sulphur, .850; ash, 7.655; color of ash, gray with red tinge.
The Bloss coal bed furnishes the greater part of all the coal which has been in the past and is now being shipped from Arnot. It is of its usual excellent char- acter and is very regular in average thickness. There are of course numerous local pinches and swellings in size as there are in all mines, but on an average it yields about three feet six inches of clear coal, or over 5,000 tons to the acre. The coal is divided into benches; the partings being very persistent and recognizable under their change in thickness. The coal separates cleanly from the parting slates usually, except that the coal from the middle bench shows a tendency to stick to the top of the bone coal under it. This, however, is picked clean outside the mine.
Specimens of the coal from the three workable benches were forwarded to the laboratory of the survey for analy- sis. The upper bench yielded /McCreath : Water, 1. 190; volatile matter, 20.755; fixed carbon, 71.697: sulphur, 1.023; ash, 5.335; coke, per cent., 78.055; color of ash, gray. This upper bench averages twelve inches of clean coal. Though a little higher in sulphur it is very low in ash, and is the purest and strongest bench of coal in the whole bed. The middle bed yielded on analysis (McCreath, of water, .940; volatile matter, 20.640; fixed carbon, 64.306; sulphur, .914; ash, 13.200; coke, per cent., 78.420. This bench only averages about eight inches in thickness. It is a good coal, though higher in ash than the upper bench. The lowest workable bench of the coal yielded on analysis McCreath : Water, 1.110; volatile matter, 18.790; fixed carbon, 63.428; sulphur, .602; ash, 16.070; coke, per cent., 80.100.
The points of difference between the coal measures at Antrim and those of Arnot, Morris Run and Fall Brook are very striking. Some coal beds are absolutely lacking and the interval distances are amazingly changed. The small one-foot vein overlying the Seymour or Cushing bed by 33 feet has not been opened. The Seymour bed at Antrim is given by A. Hardt as five feet six inches in thickness. The coal has a bright black lustre, is very tender, and carries numerous thin partings of mineral charcoal and knife edges of fron pyrites. A specimen analyzed at the State laboratory was composed as fol- lows: Water, 1.460; volatile matter, 21.600; fixed carbon, 65.120; sulphur, 2.820; ash, 9.000; coke, per cent., 76.940; color of ash, reddish gray.
The Seymour coal bed, says the report of the second geological survey, is opened and worked for shipment by the Blossburg Coal Company at Arnot. The bed has a The Bloss bed at Antrim is depended upon for the coal shipped to market. An average specimen representing all the benches together just as the coal goes to market was forwarded for analysis and yielded /McCreath : Water, 2.260; volatile matter, 20.240; fixed carbon, slate roof with 12" to 3" of iron ore enclosed, and a fire clay floor; runs with considerable regularity in the mine and will average two feet eight inches in thickness. An average specimen of the coal was forwarded to the survey laboratory and yielded on analysis (McCreath): Water, 71.847; sulphur, .548; ash, 5.105; coke, per cent., 77.50; 1.180; volatile matter, 21.586; fixed carbon, 71.574; sul- color of ash, gray. The coal has a deep black lustre, generally with seams of bright crystalline coal running through it. It is rather tender, is free from slaty phur, .907; ash, 4.753; coke, per cent., 77.234. The coal is bright, shining and very tender. It carries
48
HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.
coal, and carries only a small amount of iron pyrites.
The above analysis represents a coal of most superior character-low in ash, low in sulphur, and with every requisite for a most efficient and valuable fuel. The percentage of combined water runs curiously higher than in the average of specimens of Bloss coal mined in this basin.
West of Antrim, says F. Platt, of the geological survey. is Wilson's Creek, a large stream which cuts down six or seven hundred feet below the hill tops which hold the coals. Coal has been opened up and is now worked on the west side of Wilson's Creek, opposite Antrim; and the Bloss bed on the west side appears to be fully 30 or 40 feet higher than the level of the same bed at Antrim. There is no railroad communication at present to afford an outlet to market for any coal west of Wilson's Creek; but some few mines are opened, and one or two thou- sand tons of coal are mined yearly and hauled away, mainly on sleds in winter for use in Wellsboro and the adjacent country. The region is entirely undeveloped except these few openings; and it is therefore impossible to obtain more than a very incomplete section of the measures as they exist. At the Bache mine the coal is worked for local supply. The mine runs in south 50° west, and the workings are carried to the south, the coal rising in that direction. In working this coal some of it is hard, breaking up into blocks, while the balance of the coal is only moderately compact. These coals were an- alyzed separately. The hard coal from the Bache mine (Bloss vein) yielded on analysis (McCreath): Water, 2.380; volatile matter, 20.005; fixed carbon, 70.055; sulphur, .565; ash, 6.995; color of ash, reddish gray. The coal is considerably coated with an orange yellow silt, is usually firm and compact, and has a deep black lustre on clean fracture. It shows numerous thin part- ings of mineral charcoal, and has a decided tendency to break up into blocks.
The softer coal from the Bache mine on analysis (McCreath) yielded: Water, 2.240; volatile matter, 20.045; fixed carbon, 70.357; sulphur, .588; ash, 6.770; coke, per cent., 77.715; color of ash, gray with a red tinge. The coal, clean looking generally, has a deep black lustre. It is moderately firm and compact, and shows numerous thin partings of mineral charcoal. It breaks with irregular fracture. These coals from the Bache mine, therefore, so unlike in appearance and phys- ical structure, are almost identical in chemical composi- tion. If the analysis of the specimens forwarded from the mine will represent what would be afforded as an average of extensive workings the coal of the Bloss bed west of Wilson's Creek is fully equal to any coal from the same bed now worked in the Blossburg coal basin.
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