Export Pennsylvania

Export Pennsylvania. First Coal Exported 1911. , Westmoreland Coal Company South (#2) Mine Entrance and Fan House, The half-moon shaped concrete structure before you is what remains of one of the two Westmoreland Coal Company fan houses that provided air circulation for the mines. On the hillside, you can still see the outline of the concrete portals of the South Mine (#2) entrance., Much of the land in the upper Turtle Creek region of Franklin Township, Westmoreland County was under cultivation in the late nineteenth century when the Westmoreland Coal Company purchased a large tract of property east of Murrysville. The property you are standing on was purchased from the Ament Family. Westmoreland Coal Company opened the Export Mine in 1892., By 1900 the mine employed 494 men and boys, and produced over 513,000 tons of coal. Most of the coal was shipped to market via the Pennsylvania Railroad., By 1904 there were two drift-entry mines operating at Export: Export No. 1 Mine (North/Old Side Mine) and Export No. 2 Mine (New/South Side Mine); they constituted the largest single mining operation in Westmoreland County at the time., Together, these mines employed 647 men and boys in 1904. Miners at Export extracted nearly 734,000 tons of coal that year, topping the country's second largest mine, H.C. Frick Coke Company's Standard Shaft Mine, near Mt. Pleasant, PA, which produced about 485,000 tons of coal., In 1910, many of the 608 men and boys employed at the Export Mines by the Westmoreland Coal Company were becoming increasingly restive over the company's refusal to recognize the United Mine Workers of America as their union. Workers at Export and other mines in northern Westmoreland County began a long and arduous coal strike in the spring of 1910. More than a year later, after Export Borough's incorporation in 1911, the strike ended in defeat for the weary., The 1920's witnessed something of a boom in the town of Export, with its population expanding to about 2,500 people. However, the Great Depression in the 1930's had a negative impact on the Westmoreland Coal Company and other bituminous coal producers. Though the town began to lose some of its residents, the Export Mines remained open throughout much of the decade. The Westmoreland Coal Company operated the Export Mines through the 1940's and into the early 1950's. It finally closed the Export Mines in 1952 and abandoned the plant., (Sidebar):, During the late 19th and early 20th century, millions of immigrants from all over Europe came to the United States in search of a better life. Many were lured by labor agents who described prosperous living and working conditions in the coal mines. Many others followed friends and relatives to coal towns., Coal mining was dangerous work, especially before mechanization. Miners spent the work day hunched over in narrow seams, using crude hand tools and explosives to break coal from the vertical face., Boys ages 10-14 often led horses or mules, and opened and closed tunnel doors to regulate the flow of fresh air in the mines (called Trapper Boys). The wooden cars delivered coal to the surface where it was weighed. Miners were paid by the weight of the coal they dug. Breakers boys spent long hours hunched over the coal chutes sorting pieces by size., A Partial Listing of Miners in Export, A , Ardenta, Giovani , (Italian Miner, Pick Miner ca. 1914, Export No. 2 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 26, single); (Injured - knee joint injured. Struck by a pick at the face of a pillar in the Export No. 2 Mine, Aug. 18, 1914), Ardison, Joseph , (Italian Miner Boy, Mule Driver ca. 1917, Export No. 1 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 19, single); (Injured - leg broken above the knee by mine cars on an entry in the Export No. 1 Mine, Sept. 7, 1917), Ardissoni, Stifano , (Italian Miner, ca. 1893-1903, Export Mines, Westmoreland Co., PA.), Ardson, Tony , (Italian Miner, Coal Loader ca. 1904, Export Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 56, married); (Injured - leg broken by fall of slate in the Export Mine, Oct. 4, 1904), August, Frank , (Russian Miner, Mule Driver ca. 1910, Export No. 2 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 20, single); (Injured - ankle and small bone above ankle broken by being run over by mine car on the main entry; he was getting off a mine car and fell in front of a wheel, in the Export No. 2 Mine, Oct. 4, 1910), B , Bailiage, Nick , (Hungarian Miner, Pick Miner ca. 1904, Export Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 37, single); (Injured - small bone in leg broken by fall of slate in the Export Mine, Dec. 10, 1904), Ballia, Andrew "Andy" , (Polish Miner, Coal Loader ca. 1907, Export No. 2 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 32, married, 2 children); (Killed - killed instantly by a fall of slate at the face of his room in the Export No. 2 Mine, Sept. 10, 1907), Bartosik, Frank , (Miner, Coal Loader ca. 1912, Export No. 1 Mine, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 27, single.); (Killed - instantly killed by a fall of slate at the face of a room. He had just fired a butt shot and was prying down the coal; when the coal fell it knocked out some of the slate posts in the Export Nol 1 Mine, July 11, 1912), C , Cain, John H. , (Miner, ca. 1916, Export Mine, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA); (Passed his Examination for Assistant Mine Foreman ca. 1916. Certificate issued ca. 1916), Cameron, A. P. , (General Superintendent, ca. 1912, ca. 1916, ca. 1917, Westmoreland Coal Company, Irwin, PA, Export Nos. 1 and 2 Mines, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA), Carp, Anton , (Polish Miner, Laborer ca. 1905, Export No. 2 Mine, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 43, married); (Injured, -ribs fractured by a fall of slate in the Export No. 2 Mine, May 23, 1905), Cline, Merle , (Miner, Stable Boss, Mule Boss ca. 1910, Export Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA), D , Darin, Mike , (Italian Miner, Mule Driver ca. 1909, Export No. 2 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 20, single); (Killed - fatally injured by being run over by loaded mine car. He was dropping a loaded mine car of slate from dip entry, on a two per cent grade, to main side track. He jumped on front end of the mine car and in cutting the mule loose from the car he fell off and the car passed over his left leg cutting it off in Export No. 2 Mine, Aug. 27, 1909. He died two days later in the hospital), Debustine, Sebastian , (Italian Miner, Pick Miner ca. 1909, Export No. 2 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 30, single); (Injured - face, neck and arms burned by gases resulting from having fired a shot with black powder in the entry. He went back immediately after the shot went off and the open light on his head ignited the gases at face of No. 1 Main Entry in the Export No. 2 Mine, Oct. 18, 1909), Dezanet, Tranquil , (Miner Boy, Mule Boy, Export Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA), Dezanet, Tranquil , (Miner Boy, Mule Boy, Export Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA), Draggi, Mike , (Italian Miner, Pick Miner ca. 1917, Export No. 1 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 35, married); (Injured - head and face lacerated and body bruised by a fall of roof in pillar work, in the Export No. 1 Mine, July 9, 1917), F , Folk, Emidio , (Italian Miner, Pick Miner ca. 1917, Export No. 1 Mine, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 64, married); (Injured - ankle fractured by a fall of coal at the face of a room in the Export No. 1 Mine, Oct. 18, 1917), Friel, Edward , (Miner, ca. 1903, Export Mine, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA); (Passed his Mine Foreman examination, ca. 1903, Export Mine, certificate issued), Futcher, J. J. , (Superintendent of the Export Mines, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA, ca. 1939, for Westmoreland Coal Company), Folk, Emidio , (Italian Miner, Pick Miner ca. 1917, Export No. 1 Mine, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 64, married); (Injured - ankle fractured by a fall of coal at the face of a room, in the Export No. 1 Mine, Oct. 18, 1917), G , Glunt, David , (American Miner, Pick Miner ca. 1916, Export No. 1 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 22, married.); (Injured. Foot badly bruised by a fall of coal and slate, in the Export No. 1 Mine, Dec. 11, 1916.), Glunt, Elmer , (American Miner, Outside Laborer ca. 1904, Export Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 32, married.); (Injured - leg broken. Struck by a loaded mine car of slate outside Export Mine, April 7, 1904), H , Hilty, Silas , (Miner, ca. 1912, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA, married, wife Nora McMunn Hilty), Hobrot, Andy , (Miner, Coal Loader ca. 1912, Export No. 2 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA.); (Prosecuted for Violations of the Mining Laws: July 25, 1912. Andy Hobrot, loader, Export No. 2 Mine, Westmoreland Coal Company. Charge - taking matches, etc., into safety lamp section of mine. Aug. 12, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a fine of $5.00 and the costs of items stolen), Hodovanyz, Andy , (Miner, ca. 1912, Export Mines, Westmoreland Co., PA); (Killed - killed in a mining accident in the Export Mines, ca. 1912), J , Jakoboivic, Michael , (Miner, Export Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA); (born 1868 - died 1893), Jelic, Real , (Austrian Miner Boy, Mule Loader ca. 1910, Export No. 2 Mine, Westmoreland Co., PA, Age 18, single.); (Injured - foot and toes bruised by fall of slate at face of room while taking down slate in the Export No. 2 Mine, Sept. 19, 1910), Jones, Griffith H. "Ben" , (Miner, Mine Foreman, Export Mine, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA), K , Karas, Stanko , (Miner, ca. 1914, Export Mines, Export, Westmoreland Co., PA); (Killed - killed in a mining accident in the Export Mines, ca. 1914), For a complete listing of Export miners, visit www.patheoldminer.com website