|
|
|
|
(This Page Still Underconstruction)
| Burchinal Mine & Coke Works
(ca.1890's- ? ), Located south of PA Rt. SR119, northwest of the town of Outcrop, on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Outcrop, Rich Hill, Springhill Twp., Fayette Co., PA. [Burchinal Coke Works contained 34 bee-hive coke ovens, in the Klondike Region, of the Connellsville Coke Region, of Fayette Co., PA.] Owners: (ca.1890's- ? ), Smithfield Coal & Coke Company, Smithfield, PA (ca.1913- ? ), Smithfield Coal & Coke Company, Smithfield, PA (ca.1916- ? ), Smithfield Coal & Coke Company, Smithfield, PA (ca.1921- ? ), Clark Coke Company, Fairchance, PA |
|
| A portion of the U.S.G.S. 15 min. Masontown PA quad map,
showing the area around Outcrop, Fayette Co. (Map courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington , D.C.) |
| DESCRIPTION: This description was written ca.1990 for the Industrial Heritage Survey and some of the details may have changed since then. When in full production, the Buchinal Coke Works contained one battery of thirty-five bee-hive coke ovens. Reportedly several of the coke ovens remain in place; however they are in a heavily overgrown area. All of the oringinal Buchinal Mine buildings, located near the coke works, appear to have been demolished. To the south, the town of Outcrop has a handful of small one-story wood-frame residences that may have been associated with the Burchinal Mine & Coke Works. The abandoned Baltimore & Ohio Railroad's Morgantown and Fairmont Branch extends through Outcrop, where a small siding was located. In Addition to the few surviving coal miners' houses, the town of Outcrop features a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad tunnel, about 500 feet long and accommodating a single track which served the coal and coke site. |
| HISTORY: The Buchinal Mine & Coke Works were built in the late 1890's by the Smithfield Coal & Coke Company. Named after its superintendent, R.S. Burchinal, the mine employed sixteen miners, four of whom were engaged in coke production, and seven who worked in the mines. The mines produced 1,000 tons of coal in ca.1903, and the coke works 1,400 tons of coke. At its peak the plant had approximately thirty-five coke ovens available. By 1912 forty-two miners were employed at the site, twelve of whom were engaged in coke production. This property was acquired by the Clark Coke Company sometime between ca.1913 and 1921. Also refer to the Smithfield Mine & Coke Works. (History and description of Burchinal Mine & Coke Works, adapted with additional data from "Fayette County, Pennsylvania: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites, 1990," America's Industrial Heitage Project, National Park Service, Historic American Buildings Survey / Historic American Engineering Record, U.S. Department of the Interior, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.) |
| Coal Miners
Memorial Burchinal Mine & Coke Works, Outcrop, Rich Hill, Burchinal, Springhill Twp., Fayette Co., PA |
| Support the Coal & Coke Heritage
Center, a non-profit research center and museum. Want to know more about the women who lived in the coal patch towns? You need this book. One of the few studies done on the women of the coal & coke era. Common lives of Uncommon Strength: The Women of the Coal & Coke Era of Southwestern Pennsylvania 1880-1970 Complied, written and edited by: Evelyn A. Hovanec, PhD 227 pages. Voices of the women tell unique stores of the coal and coke era, plus vintage photographs, documents, maps, and newspaper articles. Hardcover $35.00 Soft cover $25.00 Add $5.00 shipping / handling. Send Check or money order to: Coal & Coke Heritage Center, Penn State University Fayette Campus P.O. Box 519, Uniontown, PA 15401 |
| To Select another Index to Fayette County Coal Mines Click on the Larry cars for Index Page or on a Letter below |
 |
| Select another Index to the Coal Mines
of Fayette County, Pennsylvania [Click on a letter to take you to that Index]
|
| Return to the Main County Index for Southwestern Pennsylvania Coal Mines |
| Local History
Sites Links to other coal mining sites |
Reference Sources for Southwestern Pennsylvania Coal Mines | The New Message Boards have not worked, Use our guestbook. Email the Editor. | Have
information to add on Fayette County Coal Mines? E-Mail the Editor |
|
View the "Old Miner's" Guestbook |
Let the Old Miner know you've been here. Sign the "Old Miner's" Guestbook |
 FastCounter by LinkExchange |
If you have additional information or pictures on the Coal
Mines of Fayette County, PA Contact: Ray Washlaski, Editor Copyright 2008, All rights reserved, by Raymond A. Washlaski, Ryan P. Washlaski & The 20th Century Society of Western Pennsylvania. Web site Design by "Mercers, an Undertakers" Web Design Company |
