1868, Carbon Hill is
noted in the Pa. Mine Inspector Report as
sinking its first shaft, and began shipping coal
to the Erie RR in 1869. The original owners are
not known. It may have been operated by the
Greenwood Coal Co for the Lackawanna &
Susquehanna Coal and Iron, who ran the Greenwood
Colliery across the river.
1870 has the Carbon
Hill is working under lease by Malvern & Scott
Co.
This may be the first
of the large type collieries in Old Forge,
according to records. The colliery was bought by
the Glenwood Coal Co., who owned it till 1876
when it was bought by the Erie Railroad.
This colliery was
situated above the west bank of the Lackawanna
River, it connected to the Lackawanna and
Bloomsburg Railroad via a mile long branch grade
from L&BRR at river level to the top of the
flats near present day end of Lincoln St. George
Filer is the GM, Edward Jones is the mine boss,
and A. Wisenflew is the outside foreman.
The openings to the
coal consist of 2 shafts and a tunnel. One of
the shafts caved in and was being used as a pump
shaft. They mine and prepare about 250 tons of
coal per day, employing 40 miners, 40 labors, 5
drivers, 3 door boys, 5 company men in the
mines. In the breaker they have 25 slate
pickers, 4 head and plate men, 3 drivers, 2
company men, 3 mechanics, and 2 bosses outside.
In all 132 men and boys are employed. They are
working the Carbon Hill Vein of coal, with an
average thickness of 6 feet.
It also processed coal
from the Chittenden shaft as mine tracks were
shown connecting the two on a area map dated
1888.
In 1882 the colliery
having been idle for six years was bought by the
Pennsylvania Coal Co., and was later abandoned
in 1884.
It is reported as
having produced 145,765 tons of coal, not
including the pre mine inspector record keeping
years between 1869 and 1872. Adding an average
of 29,153 per year for 3 years would increase
the production tonnage to 333,224.
No photos, drawings,
records or maps of this colliery have been
found, and its early history may be lost to
time.