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| Moween (Mooween), Loyalhanna Twp., Westmoreland
Co., PA [A Coal Company Patch town in Loyalhanna Twp., Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania.] [Moween was also spelled Mooween in historical references.]
Moween Mine
Moween No. 1 Mine
Moween No. 2 Mine |
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| A portion of the 1902 15 min. Latrobe, PA Quad map, showing
the location at which the town of Moween was built in ca.1906. (Courtesy of the US Geological Survey, Washington, D.C.) |
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| Matt Harboskey on a mine motor at the entrance
to the Mooween Mine, on the Westmoreland County side of the Conemaugh River,
ca.1949. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. Divincenzo.) |
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| Entrance to the Mooween Mine No. 1, located
in the cliff on the Westmoreland County side of the Conemaugh River,
ca.1949. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. Divincenzo.) |
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| The bridge that crossed the Conemaugh River
from the Mooween Mine entrance, located on the Westmoreland County side of
the river to the railroad loading tipple in White, on the Indiana County
side of the Conemaugh River. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. Divincenzo.) |
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| The tipple of the Mooween Mine on the
Pennsylvania Railroad, was located in White, on the Indiana County side of
the Conemaugh River, ca.1949. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. Divincenzo.) |
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| The front of the Keystone Coal Company Store, as it looked
ca.1985. The building was being used by Tuscano Maher Roofing,
Inc. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. DiVincenzo, ca.1985.) |
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| A side view of the Moween company store and warehouse
in the back of the building, ca.1985 (Photo courtesy of Albert D. DiVincenzo, ca.1985.) |
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| The former Keystone Coal Company store at Moween which
was operated by B. Straths and Brothers Company, as it looked
ca.2003. (Photo by Raymond A. Washlaski, ca.2003.) |
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| The Keystone Coal Company Store with the store managers
residence attached on the right. The store front windows have been
infilled with stone. (Photo by Raymond A. Washlaski, ca.2003.) |
| HISTORY: Located in the northern reaches of Westmoreland County, the town of Moween, in Loyalhanna Township, along with the drift entry Moween Mines. The mine is opened in the Upper Freeport seam on the Westmoreland county side of the Kiskiminetas River. The tipple is located across the Conemaugh River in Indiana County, the Moween Mine was established ca.1906 by the Keystone Coal Company. The two Moween Mines mined the 43 inch thick Upper Freeport Coal seam. A steel bridge, 500 feet long, spams the river between these points. A track for the loaded mine cars has been completed, ca.1906. Another will be laid soon. A The third track has been completed ca.1906. The elevation of the bridge is such as to allow the empty mine cars to run by gravity from the tipple back to the mine entrance. A foot bridge will soon be erected underneath the main bridge for the accommodation of those employed at this mine. A blacksmith shop and a few tenant houses have been erected ca.1906. The Keystone Coal Company, not to be confused with the Keystone Coal & Coke Company of Greensburg, had its general offices in York, Pennsylvania, and was led by W. O. Houck. In addition to the Moween Mines, Keystone Coal Company owned the Glen McClaren Mines in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The Moween Mines exploited the Upper Freeport coal seam which had an average thickness of 42 inches in this area. By ca.1910 the Moween Mines employed eighty-three men and boys in the mines, who produced over 78,000 tons of coal. The miners extracted the coal by pick and shovel and loaded it by hand. Most of the coal produced at the Moween Mines was shipped to steam-coal markets via the Pennsylvania Railroad's Conemaugh Division. By ca.1913 Keystone Coal Company had opened a second mine at Moween, though it was not operated until the following year. Although the company continued to mine the coal largely by hand, it added three Sullivan electric mining machines and employed three electric trolley mine locomotives for haulage of the coal from the mines. A boiler house and powerhouse at the mine, contained one 150 kilowatt generator, and supplied the electricity for the mine and the coal company town of Moween. During the First World War coal from the Moween Mine was extracted exclusively using electric mining machines. In ca.1917 the Moween Mines employed 142 men and boys, and produced 152,368 tons of coal. By ca.1918 Keystone Coal Company employed 127 miners at the Moween Mines and they produced over 144,000 tons of coal. During the First World War the Keystone Coal Company moved its field offices from Meyersdale, Somerset County to Moween, Westmoreland County. Edward Bytheway oversaw the coal company's operations at Moween during the 1910's when it built many of the miners houses in Moween. The coal company store in Moween was operated by B. Straths and Brothers Company. The American Hotel was located in Moween, during the coal mining days, operated by Mr. Schardt. Although Keystone Coal Company was one of the smallest coal companies in the region it remained an independent producer and continued to operate mines in Westmoreland and Somerset counties. In ca.1918 Keystone Coal Company, having abandoned the Glen McClaren mine, opened Keystone No. 4 Mine near Meyersdale. However, the Moween Mines remained the larger of the two mining operations. By the mid 1920's the Moween Mines were regularly producing over 120,000 tons of coal each year. The mines employed 130 miners. Edward Bytheway continued to serve as superintendent of the Moween Mines and the company was headed by J. E. Baker of York, Pennsylvania. J. E. Baker led the Keystone Coal Company through the great depression years of the 1930's. Having shed the Meyersdale mine property, the company operated only the Moween Mines. Employment at the Moween Mines remained relatively stable with about 120 miners working single shifts. During the Second World War the Keystone Coal Company employed as many as 211 miners at the Moween Mines. In ca.1943 the Moween Mines produced about 122,000 tons of coal. The mine's preparation plant included a coal crusher, bar screens, a picking table, and loading booms. Six electric trolley locomotives hauled the coal from the mine. By the 1940's the company had dispensed with the powerhouse and purchased electricity from outside the town. About ca.1950, the Keystone Coal Company ceased operations and abandoned the Moween Mines. (History and description of the Moween Mines, with additional data and pictures adapted from "Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: An Inventory of Historic Engineering and Industrial Sites, 1994," 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.) |
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| The two room school house at Mooween, built ca.1920's.
James Divincenzo is standing on the enclosure at the front of the
vandalized school ca.1985. The building was torn down, and only the
foundation remains ca.2010. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. DiVincenzo, ca.1985.) |
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| The old pump house as it looked ca.1985, was located just
across the street from the company store. The pumps delivered the water
to the town. The building was not there ca.2010. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. DiVincenzo, ca.1985.) |
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| The Main street into the coal company patch town of Moween,
with its single-family houses. (Photo by Raymond A. Washlaski, ca.2003.) |
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| Mooween single-family house, ca.1985. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. DiVincenzo, ca.1985.) |
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| The back street in the coal company patch town of
Moween. (Photo by Raymond A. Washlaski, ca.2003.) |
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| One of the large double-family houses, or possibly a boarding
house in Moween, ca.1985. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. DiVincenzo, ca.1985.) |
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| A single-family house in Mooween, ca.1985. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. DiVincenzo, ca.1985.) |
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| A row of the single-family houses in Moween,
ca.1985. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. DiVincenzo, ca.1985.) |
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| The Mooween Mine superintendent's house located on the
back street of Mooween, Loyalhanna Township, Westmoreland Co., PA, as it
looked ca.1985. (Photo courtesy of Albert D. DiVincenzo, ca.1985.) |
| 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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Mines of Westmoreland 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 |
