Early Coal Mining in the Anthracite Region

Images of America: Pennsylvania

by John Stuart Richards

Four distinct anthracite coal fields encompass an area of 1,700 square miles in the northeastern portion of Pennsylvania. Early Coal Mining in the Anthracite Region is a journey into a world that was once very familiar.
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, underground coal mining was at its zenith and the work of miners was more grueling and dangerous than it is today. Faces blackened by coal and helmet lamps lit by fire are no longer parts of the everyday lives of miners in the region. These vintage photographs of collieries, breakers, miners, drivers, and breaker boys illuminate the dark of the anthracite mines. The pictures of miners, roof falls, mules, and equipment deep underground tell the story of the hard lives lived around the hard coal. Above ground, breaker boys toiled in unbearable conditions inside the noisy, vibrating, soot-filled monsters known as coal breakers.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published February 13, 2002

Reviews

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has a nice collection of photographs of coal mining from late 19th century and early 20th century. The photographs were of collieries, miners, work life, mules, etc. There were brief descriptions for each photo, but I wished that the author included more dates for the photos. Only a few of the descriptions told you what year the photo was taken. Other than that, it was very informative and interesting to read/look at.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great grandparents on both sides of my family were anthracite coal miners in NE Pennsylvania. This factual history of working and living conditions of miners and their families makes me feel such empathy and awe for those ancestors and the communities in which they lived. They had hard lives full of risk.

[MissyLynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look into the history of coal mining in Pennsylvania