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| Eleanora Mines (Eleanor P.O.),
McCalmont Twp., Jefferson Co., PA [A coal company patch town in McCalmont Twp., Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.] [Eleanora was named after Eleanora Iselin, wife of Adrian Iselin who owned the Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal and Iron Company.] [The Eleanora Shaft Mine was opened in ca.1894 and closed in ca.1919. Eleanora was a small town but there was a trolley that stopped there and there were businesses and churches. For the most part Eleanora was a coal company patch town existing because of the mine. When the mines closed, the town disappeared. Almost nothing remains ca.2006.] See: Eleanora No. 1 Mine (Eleanora Shaft Mine), Eleanora, McCalmont Twp., Jefferson Co., PA Eleanora No. 2 Mine, Eleanora, McCalmont Twp., Jefferson Co., PA Eleanora No. 3 Mine, Eleanora, McCalmont Twp., Jefferson Co., PA
Eleanor P.O. (Eleanora Mines),
McCalmont Twp., Jefferson Co., PA
Eleanora No. 1 Mine
Eleanora No. 2 Mine (ca.1890-
? ),
Eleanora No. 3 Mine & Coke Works
(ca.1901- ? ), |
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| The top map is a portion of the U.S.G.S. 15
min. DuBois quad map ca.1924ed. The bottom map is a portion of the U.S.G.S.
15min. Punxsutawney quad map ca.1906ed. The two maps combined show
the Eleanora Branch of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad.
Eleanora and Big Run were also served by the Jefferson County Electric
Railway system. (Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. |
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| Sketch map of the Adrian Mines & the
Eleanora Mines ca.1896. (Courtesy of "Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company, The First One Hundred Years" by Eileen Mountjoy Cooper, ca.1982.) |
| HISTORY: In December, 1889, the Board of Directors of the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron Company completed transactions securing the purchase of still more coal lands. This entailed "the purchase of certain lands, coal rights, and coal situated in Jefferson County, known as 'Eleanora Property.' " The purchase price totalled $350.000 in Company bonds. The minng town of Eleanora, named in honor of the wife of Adrian Iselin, came into existance in December, 1887, but work at the location proceeded slowly until the company's purchase of the lands from the Iselin family. Construction of miners' houses and support buildings for the new community began in February, 1888, and by the next year were completed. |
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| An overview of Eleanora, PA founded ca.1887,
showing the various styles of housing built by the Rochester & Pittsburgh
Coal & Iron Company in the town. The large building center right
probably is the company store. The railroad tracks of the Buffalo,
Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad can be seen center left. Nothing
of this town remains ca.2008. (Courtesy of "Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company, The First One Hundred Years" by Eileen Mountjoy Cooper, ca.1982.) |
| The Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal &
Iron Company made its first shipment from the Elenora Mine in December, 1889.
In ca.1890 the inspector of Mines noted in his annual report for the
State of Pennsylvania that the Eleanora No. 1 Mine, although a new one, "was
in first-class condition as to draining and ventilation." The plan
adopted for this mine, with separate and fresh air for each heading or section
of work, was "the only true and proper method of ventilating mines," The
inspector concluded in his report that "until this plan is universally adopted,
ventilation and drainage will not be what they should by in regard to
healthfulness for men,"
Eleanora Mine output for the first full year of production was listed at 143,607 tons of coal. By ca.1894 Eleanora No. 1 Mine and Eleanora No. 2 Mine were being mined by mining machines of the Ingersoll-Sergeant compressed air type. To furnish the air to operate the machines, teo Norwalk Compressors were installed by Heyl & Patterson Company of Pittsburgh, PA. These cutting machines eliminated a great deal of pick work in under cutting the coal. Mules, of cource, were still used to transport the empty mine cars fromthe slope to the face, and to return the loaded mine cars to the slope and then they were pulled to the tipple. |
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| The tipple of Eleanora No. 2 Mine and power house to the
right. Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad cars loaded with
coal are awaiting shipment. (Photo courtesy of the Jefferson County Historical Society, Brookville, PA.) |
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| Miners and outside workers with loaded mine cars outside
the Eleanora Mine. (Photo courtesy of the Jefferson County Historical Society, Brookville, PA.) |
| By ca.1898, Eleanora Mines also had bee-hive
coke ovens and produced 100,164 tons of coke that year. For the period
ended December 31, 1898, Eleanore Mines produced 232,123 tons of coal, and
the total number of men and boys employed had grown to 902. Two years
later the minng town of Eleanora contained approximately 89 miners houses,
and an independent town named Desire developed nearby in Henderson Twp. to
house the population overflow from the main community.
In ca.1906 the Eleanora Mines produced 476,026 tons of coal and 55, 394 tons of coke and employed 657 men and boys and 29 horses and mules.
Thursday, June 6, 1907 Today, only a very few houses remain at the site of Eleanora. (Historical text adapted from "Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company, The First One Hundred Years" by Eileen Mountjoy Cooper, ca.1982. used with permission of Eileen Mountjoy.) |
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| The bee-hive coke oven battery at Eleanora Mines with
the town of Eleanora in the background. (Photo courtesy of the Jefferson County Historical Society, Brookville, PA.) |
| From the Inspector of Mnes of Pennsylvania
Report for 1906. Eleanora Nos. 1 and No. 2 Mines were found in good condition. In Eleanora No. 2 Mine they are pushing the heading toward the shaft night and day. They meet with difficulties in the way of water, and sometimes rolls. This heading is going to the dip, and when connection is made with the heading from the shaft the water will drain to that point. Since the strike Eleanora No. 3 Mine has not worked, the men having been transferred to Eleanora No 2 Mine. |
| Coal Miners
Memorial Eleanora Mines & Coke Works, Eleanora, McCalmont Twp., Jefferson 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 Westmoreland County Coal Mines Click on the Larry cars for Index Page or on a Letter below |
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| Select another Index to Coal Mines of
Jefferson County, Pennsylvania [Click on a letter to take you to that Index]
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| Return to the Main County Index for Southwest Pennsylvania Coal Mines |
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