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The Dunn Colliery was the first colliery built
by John J. Jermyn in Old Forge. It was located
in the Rendham section of town and was operated
by John Jermyn for the Penn Anthracite Coal Co.
It sank the first slope in 1882, and started
sinking the shaft later that year. The colliery
and surrounding buildings were destroyed by fire
on July 17, 1888. The culm bank had been on fire
for some time, and it was suspected to have
spread to the breaker. A New York Times article
reported the fire. Between 1883 and 1891 the
coal shipped to market was 991,137 tons as
recorded in the Pa. Mine Inspector Reports.
A new
breaker named the Jermyn No1 replaced the Dunn.
It was erected 200 feet from the shaft location
under new laws enacted after the Avondale
disaster. It operated from 1892 to 1910 and
produced 2,707,587 tons of coal. The breaker was
heavily damaged or destroyed on October 27, 1906
by a cyclone. All coal mined at this colliery is
now taken by the SCRR to the Jermyn No2 colliery
for processing. It was also the site of the
worst mining disaster in Old Forge which
resulted in the deaths of 5 miners on September
27, 1897.
In 1908 a washery was built and operated by the
Dunn Coal Co till 1910. Dunn Coal was also
listed as operating the colliery in 1911 and
1936, with the Dunn Coal operating only the
slope in 1937.
From the New York Times,
Published: July 18, 1888
"MANY MINERS IN PERIL, A BURNING
BREAKER THAT THREATENED HUMAN LIFE"
Scranton, Penn., July 17.--- The Breaker of the
Dunn Colliery in Old Forge, on the outskirts of
Scranton, caught fire this evening at 7:30
o'clock, and in a short time was burned to the
ground. The night force of 50 men went into the
colliery at 6 o'clock to their work, and were in
the mine when the breaker caught fire. The
flames were seen in the tower of the breaker,
100 feet high, and spread so rapidly that it was
impossible to reach the mouth of the shaft until
the destruction was complete. Fortunately a
trumpet from the blacksmith's shop, some
distance away was connected with the pump room,
and through this the outside hands communicated
with the pumpman at the foot of the shaft and
told him of the disaster, bidding him to warn
the miners to make their escape through the
slope.
Bu this time a shower of blazing sparks and
timbers fell down the shaft and drove the
pumpman from his work. There was intense
excitement in the neighborhood of the burning
breaker, which was surrounded by thousands of
eager and anxious persons, waiting to here from
the men in the pit over which the fearful fire
was roaring. At last there was a cry of joy in
the crowd as the glad news "the miners were
safe" was passed along the line. The miners ad
made their escape through the slope and managed
to reach the surface about 8:30 o'clock. The
burned breaker was built by John Jermyn of this
city a short time ago at a cost of $100,000. The
workmen there had been on strike some time ago,
and had but recently settled their differences
with their employer. End....
From the New York Times,
Published: September 29, 1897
"FIVE MINERS SUFFOCATED"
"Overcome by Black Damp following a fire in a
mine near Rendham Pennsylvania"
Scranton
Pa. September 28, 1897. --- Five men this
afternoon met a horrible death from "Black Damp"
after the accumulation of a fire in the Jermyn
No1 mine of the Dunn Colliery at Rendham, which
had been burning since last Tuesday. The dead
are Issac Watkins 55, fire boss; William
Tompkins 22, Joseph Smith 35, John Gallagher 42,
and William Franklin 26, company men. The bodies
of all but Watkins were discovered at 5:30
o'clock by a man who went into the mine with
supplies to fight the fire. At midnight the body
of Watkins had not been found.
The men
who lost their lives represented "one shift".
They went on duty at 3: o'clock, and nobody knew
of their deaths until the discovery of the
lifeless bodies. Not a man in the party survived
to tell the story. In the case of each
body, the head was pointed toward the shaft,
indicating that they had groped and struggled
toward the shaft and fresh air, while
suffocation was overcoming them. End...
This page is still being
researched. No photos of the Dunn or Jermyn No1
have yet to be found.
From the
Old Forge Centennial
Celebration Book Told By W. J. Szczech
When the sun peeks over the east hills, into
Old Forge and gray mist creeps from the thin
black river, long shadows stretch out on the
streets and gardens like ghost fingers. Shadows
from the house, the church, the breaker, fall
aimlessly over the town while the soft, red sun
is low and the whistles scream out the hour.
Dark specters with ruddy faces, and shining
pails ‘neath their armpits, steal briskly down
from the hill or up from their homes by the
river, and powing themselves down the shaft into
huddled groups on a carriage deep in the dark of
earth’s bosom, and coolness that man’s engines
make. They bend along through each passage until
they reach their chambers.
These men are makers of cities. These men have built up Old Forge.
When the sun lingers over the west hills,
above Old Forge, and the lazy black river winds
onward, long shadows stretch our over the
streets and gardens, and the fathers will laugh
with their children and tell them a sleepy-time
story. Telling babes sleepy-time stories, and
working so near the Grim-Reaper.
The dangers they lived through yesterday will
be less, perhaps by tomorrow, when the sun peeks
over the hills, into Old Forge, and the gray
mist creeps up from the river, a NEW whistle
screams out the hour.
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