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| Florence (Anita P.O.), McClamont Twp., Jefferson Co., PA [A coal company patch town in McClamont Twp., Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.] [Located on the Adrian Branch of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburg Railroad and the Jefferson Co. Electric Railway.] See: Florence Mine & Coke Works (Florence No. 1 Mine), Florence, Anita P.O., McCalmont Twp., Jefferson Co., PA Florence No. 2 Mine, Florence, Anita P.O., McCalmont Twp., Jefferson Co., PA
Florence Mine & Coke Works
Florence No. 2 Mine (ca.1904-
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| The top map is a portion of the U.S.G.S. 15 min. DuBois,
PA quad map ca.1924ed. The bottom map is a portion of the U.S.G.S. 15min.
Punxsutawney, PA quad map ca.1906ed. The two maps combined show the
Adrian Branch of the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad.
(Maps courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.) |
| HISTORY: In ca.1899, another mine opening, Florence No. 1 Mine, a slope mine, was begun northeast of Adrian. Shortly thereafter Florence No. 2 Mine, a drift mine, was begun. The mines were run on steam power.
From the Mine Inspectors of Pennsylvania Report for 1906:
Both Florence No. 1 Mine and Florence No. 2 Mine were operated by the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron Company until ca.1924, when the mines were closed. The company reopened the Florence Mine in ca.1937 and mined coal again at the site until ca.1941, when the operation was permanently shut down. All coal mined at the Florence Mines was transported back to Adrian and processed over Adrian's tipple. In the beginning of minng operations most of the men who mined at Florence No. 1 Mine & Florence No. 2 Mine lived in Adrian, although houses were eventually built at Florence for the convenience of some of the workers. |
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| Florence Mines ca.1910. The large
building in the center is the boiler house and Power Plant. The smaller
structure on the hill to the right was the water tower for the boiler house,
for making steam to run the mine. (Photo courtesy of "Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company, The First One Hundred Years" by Eileen Mountjoy Cooper, ca.1982.) |
| The "Black Hand" in Florence.
In addition to being remembered as one of the first sites mined by the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron Company, the town of Florence also secured a place in the annals of crime in Jefferson County. The flow of immigrants into the early coal towns often resulted in exploitation of the "New Americans" by a few unscrupulous individuals. In 1905 the Pennsylvania Legislature created the nation's first State Police Force for the protection of rural communities, and Punxsutawney became home to one of four separate troops responsible for Patrolling the area. Mainly in response to the mine owners for protection of their operations. Some miners and day workrs showed their resentment by terming the troopers "Pennsylvania Cossacks." On September 2, 1906, a battled ensued when troops sought out a gang of desperadoes and cutthroats in Florence. |
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| In 1906, a Punxsutawney newspaper reported accounts of a pitched battle between Troop D of the Pennsylvania State Police, Constabulary of Punxsutawney, and a group of "Black Handers," a gang of petty extortioners. At the height of the fray, the alleged Black Handers barricaded themselves into a house near Florence Mine. In the resulting gunfire, two troopers were killed, Private Zehringer and Private Henry, and three wounded. |
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| Members of Troop D, Pennsylvania State Police, pose at
the Punxsutawney Fairgrounds racetrack ca.1906. (Photo courtesy of the Jefferson County Historical Society, Brookville, PA.) |
| "There are many treacherous members of the
"Black Hand" in and about Florence Mine and the surrounding mines." stated
the newspaper at the time of the 1906 conflict. Reports of "Black Hand
"crimes died out in the nineteen twenties, when Prohibition paved the way
for more profitable methods of making money for those disinclined to work
at legal occupations.
(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.) |
| Punxsutawney, PA House Explosion, Jun 1904
HOUSE WRECKED. Woman and Child Injured by an Explosion. While attempting to burn a flue out with miner's powder, Mrs. John Bologne, of Florence mine, near Punxsutawney, Pa., was the victim of an explosion, which may kill her and her 18-month-old child. Mrs. Bologne took the powder from a four-gallon can and after placing some of it in the stove pipe set fire to it, thinking it would clear the flue. A slight explosion followed which threw sparks into the can, when a second explosion occurred which wrecked the house and blew the woman and baby out through the door and several feet away from the building. The woman's clothing was on fire when two neighbors came to her assistance. While they were trying to assist Mrs. Bologne a second can of powder exploded and they were badly burned. (from "The Indiana Democrat," Indiana, PA June 8, 1904.) (Article courtesy of Dawn McLaughlin.) |
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| Telephone Booth in the Florence Mine, one mile from the entrance. |
| Coal Miners
Memorial Florence Mines, Florence, Anita P.O., 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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