No. 31 Mine Portals

No. 31 Mine Portals. . , (panel 1) , These portals were finished in 1920 while coal was being removed from temporary portals to the west. The main haulage goes straight through the mountain to Lewis Creek in Letcher Co., while an offset continues to Colliers Creek, about 5 miles, the mine was closed in 1963. In 1968 the three main entries were rehabilitated to serve the new Winifrede Mine borehole, 1800 ft. underground. The conveyor here hauled coal at 500 tons per hour from the Winifrede Mine to a 2300 ton storage silo at the tipple. , (panel 2) , In 1917 United States Steel Corporation began development of the coal mining facilities that you will see here. First coal was shipped November 2, 1917. 1,243,000 tons were shipped in 1919. , You will see here: , No. 31 Mine Portal (1920) , No. 31 Mine Lamphouse (1920) , Lynch Firehouse (1920) , Bathhouse and Office (1920) , No. 31 Mine Coal Dump Pit (1920) , Power House (1920) , Machine Shop (1920) , Coal Tipple (1920) , Blending Bin and Lower Conveyor (1950) , City Water Plant (1934) , Restaurant Building (1921) , Railroad Station (1925) Bore Cores – Winifrede Mine (1968) , Winifrede Mine Conveyor (1968) , Winifrede Mine Conveyor Ventilating Fan (1968) , No. 31 Mine Shop – Floor Slab (1957) , To build the town and mine support facilities, Big Looney Creek was rerouted and over one mile was walled with locally quarried native sandstone. In addition to the structures chronicled here, the coal company constructed six miles of concrete paved streets, fifty miles of water lines, power lines, one of the largest company stores in the world, a hospital, 120 room hotel, bank, post office, elementary and high schools, and 1000 homes served by outhouses connected to a central sewage disposal plant. The city had over 10,000 residents at one time.