USA > Pennsylvania > Tioga County > History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, with Illustrations, portraits and sketches of prominent families and individuals > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95
About a mile northeast from the Bache mine the Bloss bed is opened and worked at Mitchell's mine, on the west bank of Wilson's Creek, opposite to the Antrim mines. The mine is worked on a small scale, only to supply one or two thousand tons for local use. It has no railroad communication and its yield is hauled away by teams. The Bloss bed here makes a beautifully defined bench around
the hillsides. The mine runs in north 10° west. The drift has been run in far enough to secure clean, bright, hard coal, with good roof and floor; and some fair aver- age specimens were taken from the run of mine coal and forwarded to the laboratory of the survey at Harrisburg. They yielded on analysis (McCreath): Water, 1.810; volatile matter, 20.350; fixed carbon, 68.126; sulphur, .569; ash, 9.145; coke, per cent., 77.84; color of ash, reddish gray. The coal, considerably coated with silt, has a dull, dead lustre on fresh fracture. It is generally compact, carries numerous thin partings of mineral charcoal, and seems in the main free from iron pyrites. The analysis shows that the Mitchell and Bache are almost identical in composition.
Since the above was examined the Bear Creek coal bed has been opened at Mitchell's, nineteen feet below the Bloss vein; it contains about two feet of workable coal.
Andrew Sherwood, a geologist of considerable fame, who resides at Mansfield in this county, and who was connected with the State geological survey, says, in the published reports (letter G) of Bradford and Tioga counties: "It has been the prevalent opinion for many years that no coal, or very little, existed in Tioga county except in the synclinal axis of the Blossburg coal basin;" and continues: " This is clearly an error, for coal beds of the lower productive measures are now opened and worked in Gaines township, Tioga county, in the next great synclinal, north of the Blossburg basin, from which it is separated by a broad anticlinal valley." The exact course of the "Gaines basin " is thus described by Mr. Sherwood, who has carefully followed out the anticlinals and synclinals of Tioga and Bradford counties:
" Its center line enters Tioga from Bradford county near the southeast corner of Jackson township; crosses Tioga River at the mouth of Mill Creek, Crooked Creek near Potter's hotel, and enters Potter county on the north side of Pine Creek. At the line between Tioga and Rutland townships this basin, on its highest knobs, catches the millstone grit, which is the foundation or bottom rock of the true coal measures. This rock pos- sesses some very marked characters of its own, which serve to distinguish it from every other bed. At some points in this basin it contains pebbles of quartz; at others it is a hard white quartzose sandstone, excellent for the manufacture of glass, and having a very uniform thickness of about thirty feet. The hills have suffered so much erosion from the waters of the Tioga, Mill Creek, Crooked Creek and tributaries that we do not meet with this rock again on going west until after we cross Norris Brook west of Niles Valley, where it again caps the hills; but here again the basin begins to widen and deepen to the southwest, so that on reaching the barrens at Long Run, instead of capping the hills, it is low enough to be itself capped by over 190 feet of coal measures."
A mine is opened on the Knox & Billings coal bed, two miles from Gaines post-office. The coal is picked or blasted down from roof to floor clean. It has no reg- ular and persistent parting. The average thickness of clean coal from where measured was about three feet. It is said to run from that up, sometimes being consider- ably thicker; but from three feet to three and a quarter
49
THE COKE BUSINESS.
feet is probably a fair average, or 5.000 tons to the acre, taking broad areas into consideration. The coal is much used locally by blacksmiths, and is hauled many miles for the purpose. It makes a hollow fire, with great heat; any welding can be done by it, and it holds fire well in the forge. The coal is screened at the mine and several hundred tons are hauled away annually for use in the valley to the northward No attempt has been made to test it for coking purposes. An average specimen of the Knox & Billings coal was forwarded to the laboratory of the survey and yielded on analysis (McCreath : Water, 3.260; volatile matter, 27.860; fixed carbon, 60.421; sulphur, 804; ash, 7.655; coke, per cent., 68.880; color of ash, reddish gray. The coal, generally coated with a yellowish white silt, has a deep black shining lustre on fresh fracture; is rather compact, showing numerous partings of mineral charcoal. The coal analyzed seemed quite wet.
It is quite evident from the foregoing extracts, taken from the report of Mr. Sherwood, of the geological sur- vey, that quite an extensive coal field exists in the lo- cality designated by him on the western line of Tioga and eastern line of Potter county. As it is undeveloped to a great extent, and the data in relation to it are crude, we must content ourselves, and await future explorations and examinations. The large amount of known reliable data concerning the coal fields in the Blossburg basin in various sections of the county, operated by individuals and companies, shows an area of about one hundred thousand acres.
COKE.
As coke is closely allied with the coal trade in the semi-bituminous coal region, and as it is now being ex- tensively made by the Blossburg Coal Company at Arnot, it deserves a place among the important industries of the county. It is in its infancy, but we confidently look forward to the time when it will become a great industry at Fall Brook, Morris Run, Arnot, Antrim and elsewhere in this county where semi-bituminous coal is found. For many years the writer has been convinced that coke was the fuel for metallurgy of iron, and whenever an op- portunity has afforded has tried to impress upon the coal companies of this county the feasibility of entering upon its manufacture. In pursuance of this idea, and to give the people of the State an intelligent conception of the manner in which coke was made and prepared from bituminous and semi-bituminous coal, he went in the summer of 1875 to Johnstown, Cambria county, Pa., and prevailed upon John Fulton, an eminent civil and mining engineer, who was and is now general mining engineer for the Cambria Iron Company, to prepare drawings of the several coke ovens used by that company, and also to write out for publication in the report of the Bureau of Industrial Statistics the results of his experiments in the 56,000 tons of semi-bituminous coke.
erection of coke ovens, and on the methods of coking coal for furnace use; its efficiency and economy as com- pared with anthracite coal in the metallurgy of iron. This Mr. Fulton did, giving, as he promised, all the de-
tails connected with the business. The drawings of the ovens the writer had lithographed, and the text pub- lished. No paper or work pertaining to the bituminous coal interests of Pennsylvania was ever more eagerly sought after. In fact the demand was not confined to Pennsylvania, but all over the United States, Canada and Great Britain the work was in demand. Eight thousand copies of the report of the Bureau of Industrial Statistics containing it were gratuitously distributed, and the report was subsequently embodied in the geological survey. The writer placed this paper by Mr. Fulton be- fore the officers of the various coal companies of Tioga county, and urged them to engage in the manufacture of coke. They then had an intelligent guide in the shape of Mr. Fulton's drawings and experiments. F. N. Drake, president of the Blossburg Coal Company, soon after- ward commenced testing the coal at Arnot in open pits, and soon found that the coal was admirably adapted to the manufacture of coke. After this initial fact was dem- onstrated he proceeded to erect beehive ovens, moving cautiously in the premises, until now he has two hundred ovens in successful operation, with the largest coal washer in the United States, its capacity being about thirteen hundred tons per day of ten hours, or 3, 120 in 24 hours. The coke he manufactures is meeting with a ready sale, and is equal in every respect to the Connellsville coke of western Pennsylvania. Coke had been made in an oven at Fall Brook, but Mr. Drake can be justly styled the pioneer in the coke trade of northern Pennsylvania. It is shipped to all points east and west, penetrating into States and territories west of the Mississippi, reaching the furnaces, rolling mills and machine shops in the Atlantic States, and going southward into the anthracite coal regions of Pennsylvania. In 1875 Mr. Fulton in his paper uses this significant language: " It is also manifest that coke is destined to become the leading fuel for blast furnaces, and to retain this position, from its almost in- exhaustible source of supply, its calorific efficiency and its continued economy "; and we might add that his pre- dictions are being fulfilled. Not only is coke taking a leading position in the manufacture of iron; but it is in- vading the household and its presence is welcomed in the kitchen range and parlor stove. It makes a bright, clean, hot fire, devoid of smoke, gas or other offensive element, and is in its prepared form taking in many households the place of anthracite.
A coke made from the Seymour vein at Arnot by the Blossburg Coal Company, of which F. N. Drake is president, yielded on analysis by Mr. McCreath of the geological survey at Harrisburg the following: Water, .220; volatile matter, .625; fixed carbon, 90.650; sulphur, .850; ash, 7.655. This is a splendid showing, and places it in the front rank of fuels in this country.
The Blossburg Coal Company made in the year 1881
IRON ORES.
Iron ore abounds to a considerable extent in Tioga county. As early as 1825 a furnace was erected at
6
50
HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.
Blossburg by Judge John H. Knapp, of Elmira, who made pig-iron at that place from ore found in the hill adjacent to the furnace. It was at intervals made there for many years thereafter. There is quite an extensive bed west of Mansfield, and a furnace was built in the year 1854 by a company, including Dr. Joseph P. Morris, James Lowrey, William Bache, Stephen F. Wilson and John F. Donaldson. This furnace has been in oper- ation at intervals ever since. Iron ores are also found in the bituminous coal regions of the county; for a description of which see the article of Andrew Sherwood on the geology and physical geography of the county, which forms a later chapter in this work.
GLASS SANDROCK.
The quantity of glass sandrock in Tioga county is ex- haustless. It enters the county from the east on the line of the Northern Central Railroad, and is to be found in great quantities in all the southern and many of the western townships of the county. Its presence is par- ticularly striking in the coal regions of the Blossburg coal basin. As early as 1847 a window-glass manufactory was erected at Blossburg by William Dezang, of Geneva, N .. Y., which has continued in operation since with few interruptions. For the past fourteen years there has been no suspension of business, save what was neces- sary for repairs. It obtains its supply from the ex- haustless quarries near Blossburg. Another window- glass manufactory is in successful operation at Coving- ton, owned and managed by the same parties, Hirsch, Ely & Co., who obtain their sand from the same source.
There is no place in the United States where glass can be manufactured with less expense than in the Blossburg coal basin, for the sandrock, coal and fire clay employed in the business are at hand and convenient. with railroad facilities for shipping to any desired point.
MOULDING SAND.
In the Blossburg coal basin are also found immense beds of moulding sand, which is used by our local foun- ders and shipped to points in southern and central New York.
FIRE CLAY.
CHAPTER VI.
STRIKES AT THE COAL MINES.
HE opening up of the coal mines of Tioga county and the development of the coal and coke trade have not been without troubles and perplexities. To write an impartial his- tory of the various strikes which have oc_ curred from time to time is a delicate and difficult task, viewed from any standpoint; we enter upon the work, we believe, as thoroughly devoid of any feelings of prejudice or favoritism as it is possible to be, and our only desire is to write out the facts and leave comments to the reader. Our history will only date back to the year 1865, a period when the " great strike " occurred, and we shall only refer incidentally to those which pre- ceded it.
In the year 1863 a society was formed at Fall Brook and Morris Run entitled "The Miners' and Laborers' Benevolent Union," which was joined by the miners and laborers in those places, with few exceptions. Subse- quently the laborers, including the carpenters and all other mechanics, withdrew and had a "union " of their own, separate from that of the miners. Their meetings were secret and none but members were admitted. Each union had a committee whose duty it was to hear all complaints made by individual members and to pre- sent such complaints to a full meeting of the union for its action; also to receive applications for work from any one desiring to be employed by the Fall Brook Coal Company, the Morris Run Coal Company and the Salt Company, which latter company was at that time operat- ing mines at Morris Run. These committees virtually dictated the number of men that these companies should employ. A miner making application to Mr. Brewer, superintendent of the Fall Brook mines, for work must obtain from the union permission to work before Mr. Brewer could give him a job. He must also be a mem- ber of the union. Another important feature of the miners' union was that when its membership amounted to a certain number no more members were admitted.
The laborers' union was not so strict in regard to numbers, for many miners joined it when they could not obtain membership in the miners' union, and worked in the woods at two dollars and fifty cents per day, when if permitted by the union to work in the mines they could have earned six dollars. It will be borne in mind that the great war of the rebellion was then going on, and every able bodied citizen was wanted at the front. Many of the citizens who were liable to military duty either enlisted, were drafted and commuted at $300, or furnished substitutes. Native citizens were therefore
Large beds or veins of fire clay, suitable for the manufacture of fire brick and pots for glass manufactur- ers, abound in the Blossburg coal basin. This is used by the glass manufacturers of Blossburg and Covington. Fire brick was manufactured to a considerable extent in Blossburg a few years ago and was considered a first- class article. Shipments of this clay are also made to various sections of the country. A fine opportunity for going into the army, and their places were supplied by the manufacture of fire brick is awaiting the enterprising those from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, who were exempt from military duty, not having declared even their intention to become citizens. Wages ad- person or company who will institute suitable kilns in the vicinity of Blossburg.
5 1
THE MINERS' STRIKE OF 1865.
vanced, labor was scarce, and every article which entered their determination. The companies, through their agents, then gave the miners and laborers notice that unless they did comply with the terms of the proposed contract the mines would be closed, and stand closed until such an arrangement was made. The unions responded that they could not and would not sign the the household was necessarily high. The miners' union and the laborers' union had several times made a demand for more pay, which was sometimes cheerfully given them and at other times, when the companies thought that their demands were exorbitant, a strike would ensue. This would generally be compromised and settled by the proposed contract, claiming it was beneath their man- company "splitting the difference " with the employes or wholly acceding to their wishes. This state of things existed for one or two years before the final struggle came in 1865.
During the years 1863 and 1864 the demand for ten- ements for the use of the miners and other employes of the companies named was great. A large force of car- penters and house builders was employed in erecting dwellings, but they could not keep pace with the appli- cations for houses. The Fall Brook Coal Company had by the ist of September 1864 erected about two hundred dwellings, and the Onondaga Salt Company and the Morris Run Coal Company were exerting themselves to the utmost to build houses; and the saw-mills were run night and day both at Fall Brook and Morris Run to keep the carpenters at work. The companies at Morris Run even erected quite a number of tenements of round logs dovetailed at the corners and chinked with clay in the interstices.
The Strike of 1865 .- It was during this great demand for houses that the president of the Fall Brook Coal Company, Hon. John Magee, went to Fall Brook and as- certained that quite a number of the occupants of his dwellings at Fall Brook were working either for the salt company at Morris Run or the Morris Run Coal Company, whose mines were about two miles distant from Fall Brook. Mr. Magee was very much dissatisfied with this arrangement and spoke in strong terms to his superintendent, Mr. Brewer, for permitting the miners to reside in the Fall Brook Coal Company's houses and work for rival companies; and he directed that a lease or contract should be drawn up and submitted to the house- holders embodying a specification that whenever they ceased to work for the Fall Brook Coal Company they should vacate the premises, in order that the company might supply their places with those who desired to oc- cupy the houses and work for the company. Upon in- vestigation it was found that there were miners living in the houses of the companies at Morris Run and working at Fall Brook. An understanding was then had between the companies at Morris Run and the Fall Brook Coal Company that each company should restrict the miners or laborers to the occupation of houses belonging to the companies for which they respectively worked. The contract spoken of, directed by Mr. Magee, was drawn up and submitted to the committees of the miners' and laborers' unions, and they in turn submitted it to a general meeting of each union specially convened for the purpose of deliberating upon the proposition of the company. Both unions refused to comply with the de- mand of the companies at Fall Brook and Morris Run, and appointed committees to notify the companies of
hood so to do. The Fall Brook Coal Company, through its manager, on the 31st of December 1864 caused the following notice to be served upon all occupants of houses in Fall Brook:
" Mr.
" SIR,-You are hereby notified and required to quit, remove from, and deliver up to the Fall Brook Coal Company possession of the premises and house No. -- , now occupied by you, which you hold as an employe of the said company. In default of your immediate com- pliance with this demand legal proceedings will be re- sorted to for the possession of said premises.
" H. BREWER, Manager.
"Fall Brook, December 31st 1864."
Similar notices were served on the miners and laborers at Morris Run.
Simultaneous with the notices referred to, John Magee, president of the Fall Brook Coal Company, issued the following circular:
" To the Miners and Laborers employed at the Fall Brook Coal Mines :
" You have been notified that the business of mining at Fall Brook is this day suspended, and it will continue suspended as long as the miners and others employed by the company arrogate to themselves the right and exer- cise the power to dictate and control the business of the company. For more than three years you have run the mines very much in your own way; certainly not to the satisfaction or profit of your employers, and it is be- lieved not to the satisfaction of yourselves. The company have therefore resolved to take charge of their own busi- ness and manage it hereafter, as they have a right to do, independent of dictation from those they employ. If they cannot obtain men on these terms who will respect the rights of their employers, they will not resume busi- ness. Their rights must hereafter be respected, and their superintendent and bosses treated with respect and obeyed in the rightful performance of their duty. If you or any portion of you shall regard the rules adopted for the future conduct of the business at Fall Brook, herewith submitted, to be inconsistent with your rights or the dignity of labor, you will of course leave, and seek employment in some other locality. This you have a right to do; but you have not the right to dictate, con- trol and disorganize the business of your employers. It is well known that a portion-a majority it is believed- of the people at Fall Brook are industrious and well dis- posed; and it is equally well known that another portion constitute a disturbing element, ever busy in fomenting discontent, seeking to exercise power and dominion over others. These disturbers are respectfully requested to leave. They will have no difficulty in selecting them- selves out from the rest.
"The company have at all times paid liberal prices; they have done every thing in their power to make the people comfortable; have respected their feelings, all
52
HISTORY OF TIOGA COUNTY.
their rights, and intend always to do so. Their liberality and kindness have not been generally appreciated.
"1" With you it is left to determine whether work shall be resumed with your aid or stand suspended. To the
company it makes but little difference. They have no contracts to perform, no debts to pay. Their coal is safe in the mountains, and it is better to leave it there than to bring it out at an enormous cost under humiliating circumstances. The proprietors are not dependent upon the revenue derived from the mines for their support, and can get on quite comfortably during the time of suspension, be it one, two or more years, without supplies from that quarter. This is not said in a spirit of boast- ing, but to place before you the fact that we are not in your power. The houses have been built for the accom- modation of those employed and willing to do their duty; not for idlers or disturbers of the company's bus- iness. Hereafter no one can occupy a house except he executes a contract defining his rights and duties. To this end a special agreement has been prepared and will be submitted herewith, which must be executed by all who wish to occupy our houses in future.
" There shall be no relaxation on this point. The company will maintain the right to control their prop- erty. Self-respect and justice require this. If the coni- pany had at any time denied you full, generous compen- sation for your services you would have had some reason to form combinations. As it has been, and is, your action is uncalled for, unreasonable and disorderly, as well as disrespectful to your employers and best friends. The continuance of such unjustifiable conduct cannot and will not be tolerated. The accompanying notice and regulations have been prepared upon mature delib- eration on the part of your employers, with a fixed and unalterable determination on their part to insist upon and sustain them at all hazards. The above remarks and considerations are addressed to you, believing that their careful and candid consideration as well as obser- vance by you will conduce as much to your welfare as to that of your employers.
" JOHN MAGEE, Pres't."
From time to time there was subsequent correspond- ence between the company and the several committees, but the general situation remained unchanged. The mines were closed, and all outside as well as inside work stopped. Those who had not hitherto belonged to either union were forced to remain idle, excepting a man or two at the company's mule barns, the clerks in the office or store, and a contractor who was erecting the Fall Brook Hotel. The miners had been earning at the rate of $8 per day per man, and some heads of families had three or four boys who worked with them, running up their gross earnings to $20 or $30 per day, so they were prepared for a long siege. The laborers had been receiving from $2.25 to $2.75, while the mechanics had been getting still higher wages. Many of the men had when the lock-out or strike commenced from $500 to $2,000; and while those who had recently arrived, or those with large families of small children, had but a small sum of money or perhaps none at all, yet upon the whole there was a large amount of money in the hands of the people.
For a few weeks the strike took the form of a holiday. Funds were subscribed and money was paid to the needy by the unions, and everything went on swimmingly for a
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.