Charting the Course of Coal

"[It was] the skill of the individual, enhanced but not replaced by an evolving support system of technology, that drove the coal mining industry and formed the anthracite region."

Mines , Men in the Lackawanna Valley worked underground in the mines their whole lives, often beginning at age 12. They toiled with picks, shovels, and dynamite to produce the "black diamonds" that powered America's Industrial Revolution. Teams of miners drilled and blasted into the coal seams, generating about 35,000 tons of coal per day.

Breaker , Coal was hoisted to the surface and sent to the breaker to be sorted and crushed into salable pieces. The coal was broken into seven different sizes, ranging from "lump" and "egg" to "rice" and "barley." Smaller sizes were easier to burn and were mostly used for home heating.

Culm Pile , Slate, rocks, impure coal, and pieces too small for sale were separated from salable coal in the breakers and dumped onto culm piles. These towering hills lined mining towns and quickly became defining elements of the landscape.

Canals and Railroads , Sorted coal was transported from the breakers by canal and, after the 1840s, by railroads. Railroads were able to reach mines tucked into the mountains that canals could not get to. Railroads soon dominated the coal industry; they owned the colleries and were their own best customer. The largest railroads were the Reading Railroad, the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western.

Wholesaler and Distributor , The railroads delivered the coal to wholesalers and distributors. Many of these were owned by the coal companies; some were independent merchants. They sold large tonnages of coal for industrial use.

Retailer , Retailers were often smaller firms who dealt in small quantities of coal. They served individual consumers' home, office, and small industrial uses. Retailers offered prompt delivery to their customers.

Industry , The coal industry was self-supporting: anthracite coal was used in the iron furnaces that produced railroad rail, it powered the steam locomotives used to transport the coal, and it even fueled breaker machinery and mine hoists at the collieries. Coal was also used in breweries, distilleries, glass works, and sugar refineries. Even the waste products were used: coal ash was used to make bowling balls and fill golf balls.