Snyder No. 2 Mine (ca.1913 ?-  ?  ),
Located on the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, Snyder, Center Twp., Indiana Co., PA
Owners: (ca.1913-  ?   ), Brush Creek Coal Mining Company, Indiana, PA
              (ca.1916-  ?  ), Brush Creek Coal Mining Company, Indiana, PA   
              (ca.1917-  ?  ), Brush Creek Coal Mining Company, Indiana, PA
              (ca.1919-  ?  ), Brush Creek Coal Mining Company, Indiana, PA
                                      [A Sudsidiary of the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron                                                    Company, Indiana, PA]

Snyder No. 3 Mine (ca.1913 ?-  ?  ),
Located on the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, Snyder, Center Twp., Indiana Co., PA
Owners: (ca.1913-   ?  ), Brush Creek Coal Mining Company, Indiana, PA
              (ca.1916-  ?  ), Brush Creek Coal Mining Company, Indiana, PA
              (ca.1917-  ?  ), Brush Creek Coal Mining Company, Indiana, PA
              (ca.1919-  ?  ), Brush Creek Coal Mining Company, Indiana, PA
                                      [A Sudsidiary of the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron                                                    Company, Indiana, PA]

The coal in this "Brush Creek Coal Field," though relatively high in sulphur and ash content, was considered to be efficient for steam purposes.  The Robinson family held approximately one-third of a total of 12,500 shares of stock in this new company, the Brush Creek Coal Mining Company.  As Lucius Waterman Robinson was president of R. & P. C. & I. Co. at the time of Brush Creek Coal Mining Company organization, two of the new mines and mining towns, Waterman and Luciusboro, were named in his honor.  The two remaining mining sites and their company towns were named Coy and Snyder, for J. B. Coy and William and John Snyder, whose properties had been bought by the Brush Creek Mining Company to form the nucleus of the coal mining operation.

On May 7, 1913, work began on the actual opening of the Snyder No. 1 Mine, the first of the Brush Creek Coal Mining Company's group of mines to begin production.  Heyl & Patterson Company of Pittsburgh begun construction of the railroad car coal loading tipple on July 14, 1913.  Workman laid the tracks of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad under the completed coal tipple, and on September 22, 1913, the first coal was dumped into a waiting B. R. & P. Railroad coal hopper car.

A unique aspect of the Brush Creek Coal Field was that due to the proximity of the several mine openings, the miners' houses were located as to be available for any of the mines, with the exception of Luciusboro.  The first of the coal company patch towns was built at Coy, where 23 double family frame houses stood by ca.1928.  Many of the miners from Snyder lived in Coy, while other men commuted the short distance from Indiana and Homer City.

Snyder No. 1 Mine was a drift Mine, that mined the 48 inch thick "B" coal seam or the Miller Coal Seam.

Two additional mines, Snyder No. 2 Mine and Snyder No. 3 Mine quickly followed Snyder No. 1 Mine development.

By the end of the first year of operation of the Snyder Mines the Brush Creek Coal Mining Company built a 24 foot x 36 foot electrical substation at the terminal of the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron Company's electrical transmission line from the Lucerne Mine power house.  The total cost of the substation and its equipment exceeded $12,000.  Feeder lines were run from the Snyder Mine substation to the Coy Mine, Waterman No. 1 Mine 'B" seam, and the Luciusboro Mine sites, and supplied the electrical power to all subsequent Brush Creek Coal Mining Company mines.

In ca.1917 Snyder No. 1 Mine used 4 electric mining machine, Snyder No. 2 Mine used 5 electric mining machines, and Snyder No. 3 used 4 electric mining machines.  The three Snyder Mines produced 280,461 tons of coal  in ca.1917 using mining machines.  In total the three Snyder Mines produced 311, 623 tons of coal in ca.1917, with 329 employees.  .

By 1928, the capacity of the three mines at Snyder totalled 1,000 tons daily; and annual capacity of 250,000 tons was estimated.  

(History of the Snyder Mines, Snyder, Center Twp., Indiana Co., PA, adapted with additional data from "Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company, The First One Hundred Years," by Eileen Mountjoy Cooper,  Published by Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company, 1982,  formerly of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA)

or
Go to Top of Page