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| Big Soldier (Soldier P.O.), Winslow Twp.,
Jefferson Co., PA [A coal company patch town in Winslow Twp., Jefferson County, Pennsylvania.] [Big Soldier , Jefferson Co., PA was also called Soldier Run, Jefferson Co., PA.] [Located on the Falls Creek & Reynoldsville Railroad and the Jefferson County Electric Railway.] See: Soldier No. 1 Mine & Coke Works, Soldier Run, Jefferson Co., PA Soldier No. 2 Mine & Coke Works, Soldier Run, Jefferson Co., PA Soldier No. 3 Mine, Soldier Run, Winslow Twp., , Jefferson Co., PA
Big Soldier Mine
Soldier No. 2 Mine & Coke Works
(ca.1898- ? ),
Soldier No. 3 Mine (ca.1898-
? ),
Soldier No. 4 Mine (ca.1904-
? ),
Soldier No. 5 Mine |
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| Portions of the U.S.G.S. Dubois, Pa 15min.
quad map ca.1924 of the area of the Soldier Mines, Winslow Township, Jefferson
Cointy, Pennsylvania. (Courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.) |
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| The Big Soldier Mine was purchased by the
Rochester & Pittsburg Coal & Iron Company subsidary the Jefferson
& Clearfield Coal & Iron Company in ca.1896. At that time,
this property was billed locally as the "Largest bituminous coal mine in
the world." (Courtesy of "Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company, The First One Hundred Years" by Eileen Mountjoy Cooper, ca.1982.) |
| HISTORY: As well as the Rochester Mine and Sandy Lick Mines, several other valuable properties came to the Rochester & Pittsburg Coal & Iron Company with the Bell, Lewis & Yates purchase by the Jefferson & Clearfield Coal & Iron Company, a subidary of the Rochester & Pittsburg Coal & Iron Company. Among them was the Big Soldier Run Mine, also called simply "Big Soldier Mine," or "Soldier Mine." This mine opened on the northwest outcrop of the Reynoldsville basin on the east side of the west branch of Soldier Run. The first opening at the site was begun in ca.1890. Within a few years, the Soldier Mine was known as the largest coal mine in the world and a picture of the mine was featured in several editions of turn-of-the-century schoolbooks. By ca.1895, Bell, Lewis & Yates had constructed a large loading tipple at the mine which was reputedly the first steel coal tipple in the United States. in ca.1896, Average daily shipment of coal from the Soldier Mine was estimated at 3,500 tons, or fully 1,000 tons per day more than were shipped from the Rochester Mine. Three smaller mines, the Hamilton Mine, the Sprague Mine, and the Henry Mine completed the group near Soldier Mine and taken together, were known as the Reynoldsville Mines. The London Mine, a 1,600 ton per day operation, belonging to the Rochester group of mines, and was located on the Falls Creek Railroad about two miles west of DuBois. Another small mine, the Sherwood Mine, was also situated on the Reynoldsville & Falls Creek Railroad, about three miles northeast of Reynoldsville. The purchase of these vast properties from the Bell, Lewis & Yates Mining Company categorized the Rochester & Pittsburg Coal & Iron Company and it's subsidaries as one of the largest mining corporations in the bituminous coal regions of the United States. But, within two years, the impetus for growth could no longer be contained within the boundaries of Jefferson County. |
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| The coal company store at the Big Soldier
Mine. (Courtesy of "Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company, The First One Hundred Years" by Eileen Mountjoy Cooper, ca.1982.) |
| From the Mine Inspector of Pennsylvania
Report for 1906: Jefferson & Clearfield Coal & Iron Company. Soldier Run Mines are the next largest mines. Soldier No. 1 and Soldier No 2 Mines are now connected by a tunnel with the Skyes Shaft Mine (now called Soldier No. 5 Mine), and the coal from the shaft is hauled through the tunnel to the tipple at Soldier. The shaft is ubed only for hoisting coal for the large boiler plant at that point and for the men living in the vicinity. The coal from Soldier No. 3 Mine also comes to the same tipple as the coal from Soldier Nos. 1, 2 and 5 Mines. These mines were found in good condition. The production in 1906 of the Soldier No. 1, No. 2, No 3 & No. 5 Mines totaled 389,092 tons of coal and 98,077 tons of coke and employed 788 men and boys and 9 horses and mules. Soldier No. 4 Mine produced 88, 293 tons of coal and employed 108 men and boys and 10 horses and mules. |
| Coal Miners
Memorial Soldier Mines, Soldier Run, Winslow 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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