Ten Mile Trivia # 4

Shriver covered bridge and Greene County ABATE riders. photo courtesy of Greene County Tourism

Have you ever wondered why were there were so many wooden covered bridges ? And why especially in Pennsylvania and the U.S. Northeast ? In the 1800's, the northeastern United States was a country in need of bridges. It is a fairly narrow coastal plain cut by many short rivers and creeks. Inland farmers needed overland transport, and that meant fords for crossing these streams. But the water-powered mills sought out the very places where streams could not be forded, the falls and rapids. So bridges were needed. The American northeast was forest country, wood was a plentiful building material, especially in the remote areas where the smaller bridges were needed. The climate favored wooden construction. The climate here is harsh by European standards, hot in the summer and icy in the winter, with a freeze-thaw cycle that would overturn stone pavings. Oddly, this sort of climate is less destructive of wood than the mild, moist climate of Britain (or Oregon). Still, wooden bridges tended to deteriorate rapidly from exposure to the elements, having a useful lifespan of only about nine years. Covering them protected their structural members, thus extending their life to 80 years or more. So wooden covered bridges were the answer.The first covered bridge in the nation was built in Pennsylvania in about 1800 over the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, shortly after a patent for the type of structure was granted in 1797.

.During the first half of the 19th century, Washington and Greene counties were in the heart of an area considered to be the nation's wool growing capital. In 1836, when 50 cents a pound was paid for wool, there were about 200,000 sheep yielding about 500,000 pounds of wool annually there. However, the price declined to about 25 cents a pound by 1842, and the farmers here began to abandon the raising of sheep for more remunerative pursuits.

In 1820, Washington was the most populous community after Pittsburgh in Southwestern Pennsylvania, with 1,687 inhabitants. Uniontown was next with 1,058, followed by Brownsville 976, Greensburg 771, and Connellsville 600.

Opera House Theater in Waynesburg
The Odd Fellows and Masonic Building Association" built in the three-story brick building in 1871, was known as the Town Hall, but later changed to the Waynesburg Opera House in 1889 after its first major renovation. The Opera House hosted a variety of traveling theatrical troupes, as well as lectures from famed orator William Jennings Bryan, known for his involvement in the 1925 Scopes trial, and former President Howard Taft.

In addition to the Opera House, motion pictures could also be seen in Waynesburg at the Eclipse Theater. In Mt. Morris was the Star Theater, the  Ross Theatre was in Carmichaels, Luvland Theater in Rices Landing, the Grand in Clarksville and at the Grand and Milfred theaters in Fredericktown. The coal companys operated their own movie houses in the patch towns of Crucible, Nemacolin, Mather, Vestaburg, Richeyville and Poland Mines.

In 1917, those interested could play pool or billiards at facilities owned by G. W. Hewitt & Sons and Geoge Ritchie in Carmichaels; by C. A. Bernnett in Clarksville; by H. E. Davis in Jefferson; and by J. E. Morris in Mt. Morris. There were five Waynesburg establishments; the Park Billiard Room, the Downey Hotel, and pool rooms operated by Filby & Becler, William Lockard and P. A. Wilbert.

The first golf course in Ten Mile Creek country was laid out by the Greene County Country Club, organized in the fall of 1921. By the end of the year, the County purchased (at a cost of $17,565) almost eighty-eight acres of the Charles C. Harry farm which lay beside Ruff Creek in Morgan Township, about five miles east of Waynesburg along the newly completed concrete road to Jefferson. There it began to lay out a nine-hole golf course that was designed by John McGlynn, "an expert golf course builder," from Pittsburgh. Acquired with the farm was the Harry residence, remodeled as a clubhouse, and a large barn used for equipment storage.















Remains of a Chartiers patch home after the tornado. That is a Model T automobile on it's side to the left. Photo from Stanley Fowler collection.

On the evening of June 23, 1944, three almost-simultaneous tornadoes struck portions of southwestern Pennsylvania, taking 43 lives. Perhaps the most serious of the three came across Washington County from the West Virginia panhandle, moving southeast across northeastern Greene County and the western edge of Fayette. A second touched down in the McKeesport area and moved southeastward past Mt. Pleasant. The third hit Rural Valley in Armstrong County and moved into Indiana.
The towns of Chartiers and Dry Tavern in northwestern Greene County were particularly hard hit. Washington, Brownsville and Greene County hospitals were not only overcrowded by dying and injured but often had to perform operations by light from kerosene lanterns.
Blood plasma was flown from Columbus, Ohio, to Waynesburg by a small plane that landed in a field illuminated by automobile headlights. As word reached points throughout the nation and world, the Red Cross was besieged by inquiries from World War II servicemen concerned about their families back here.
Wind Ridge in Greene County got its name as the result of a coin toss. It originally was known as Jacksonville.
When Greene Co. was still part of Washington Co., Pennsylvania passed an act for the gradual abolition of slavery. At this time there were 155 slave owners in Washington Co. who registered approx. 443 slaves. Of the 443 registered slaves, Greene Countians registered a total of 33 slaves. When the first national censuses were taken in 1790, there were 44 slaves in Greene Co. & 1 free "person of color". In 1800, there were 16 slaves, 23 persons of color living with white, either as servants or family members. In the introduction to Carter G. Woodson's Free Negro Head of Families In The 1830 Census for Greene County, he makes the following notation: "...that year a petition from Greene County said that many Negroes had settled in Pennsylvania and had been able to seduce into marriage "the minor children of White inhabitants." This county, therefore, asked these marriages be made an offence against the laws of the State."


From 1852 through the mid-1930's, the Greene County Agricultural Society held a fair each year in Carmichaels, PA. The original site was on the east side of town where Cumberland Village is located today. Around 1900, the fair was moved to the location on Ceylon Road where Wana B Park is now. According to a book published by Carmichaels Bi-Centennial, Inc. (1967), the main exhibits at the fair in those days were farm products, livestock and manufactured goods. Activities and contests consisted mostly of horse and bicycle races. Entertainment included live bands as a major attraction, and sometimes circus like performers such as tightrope walkers and acrobats. Admission to the fair started out at 15 cents for children and 35 cents for adults. By the 1920's those rates had raised to 50 and 75 cents, respectively. The grandstand seated nearly 2,000 people. The fair closed in 1935 due to a decrease in attendance and "other contributing factors which caused a decline and complete collapse of the Greene County Agricultural Society."
There was also a fair in Jefferson until 1907. The location of the Jefferson Fair is still referred to as "The Fairgrounds". Today the area consists of residential lots.

Jollytown, in Greene County, did not get its name from the jovial atmosphere there, but from pioneer landowner Titus Jolly.

From The Charleroi Mail of June 29, 1911 :
The first work done by the Crucible Coal Company towards the opening of the mine on its property above Rices Landing was begun this week. Several Italian laborers arrived and were put to work constructing a road from the river to the Fordyce, Crago and the Norman Riggle farms. It is on these two farms where the houses of the company will be built. The coal company will build the tipple on the Thomas Crago tract and it will be constructed so that barges in the river can be loaded and also freight cars be shipped by rail. The company will install a ferry across the river as the material, much of it at least, will be shipped by rail and will arrive on the opposite side of the river.
The new works are to be located about one and one-half miles above the lock at Rices Landing.

From The Argus of May 8, 1884:
A. H. Swan, of Cheyenne, Wyoming Territory, is a native of Greene County, Pa., which place he left for the West in 1853, when twenty-two years of age, with $1,000 in his pocket. He now controls more cattle than any other individual on the continent. His present possessions are valued at between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000, while the amount of stock of which he has the exclusive control and management is over 200,000 head, and valued at over $6,000,000. He was the organizer, and is President and General Manager of no less than five different stock organizations in Wyoming.

From unknown newspaper May 29, 1908 :In the marriage of Miss Flora E. Gruber of Greensboro and John Sharpnack last week, an unusual courtship was brought to a fitting climax. John is an employee of the United States government on the new lock at North Charleroi. On February 15, 1906, he picked up a floating bottle, which contained a note signed in a delicate hand. "Miss Flora E. Gruber, Greensboro, Pa., February 14 - St. Valentine's Day - 1906. Finder please write." The river at that time was at high stage, and the missive was not long in finding its way down to lock No. 4, where it was found by Sharpnack. The same evening he wrote a letter, and in due time received a reply. Letters and photographs were exchanged later. The sequel was the marriage last week. The young pair will live at Charleroi.

Albert Bushnell Hart, one of the most famous of American historians, was born in Clarksville Pa.on July 1, 1854. He was a graduate of Harvard, and received numerous honorary degrees. He was a professor of various subjects at Harvard and was later professor emeritus. He was a member and historian of the U. S. Commission for Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington. He served as joint editor of the Harvard Graduates' Magazine, and also a member of many political and historical associations. Some of Professor Hart's publications are Guide to the Study of American History, Slavery and Abolition, Southern South, Handbook of the War, Causes of the War.

Fredericktown ferry FREDERICK glides back to the east shore of the Monongahela River on March 7, 2006. The ferry rides on cables that are attached to each bank of the river and moves between Fredericktown and LaBelle, Pa. Mile 64.1. Photo by Eric M. Johnson.












As late as the end of World War II, nine ferries on the Monongahela River connected Washington and Greene county points with Fayette County. The communities were Fayette City, Coal Center / Newell, Fredericktown / East Fredericktown ( LaBelle ) , Millsboro / East Millsboro, Crucible / Arensburg, Adah, Nemacolin / Huron, Martin and Greensboro / New Geneva. Since the early 1900's, as the railroad advanced up the river, many people used the ferry to cross to the to the Fayette county side to take the railroad to Brownsville or Morgantown. The Monongahela Railway obligingly built stations or shelters at each ferry landing. In 1950, railroad passenger service along that side of the river between Brownsville and Fairmont, W.Va., came to an end.
The ferry at Fredericktown is the last on the river. I plan to do a story on it but it will be a sad one because it does not seem to have much time left due to the new bridge being built at Denbo. There's been a ferry at Fredericktown since 1790. Thats a long time.

From an unknown local paper, June 1,1891 :
Beckie Brown, the ferryman of Brown's Ferry, near Carmichaels, who died recently, had worked that ferry forty years single handed and alone. She was the widow of James Brown, who died before the Civil war, and Beckie continued to placidly work at the ferry. In her early days she attended all the fairs, horse races and old time musters, peddling gingerbread and spruce beer that she made herself. She had a secret preparation for her gingerbread that made it famous, and no doubt did a great deal toward making it familiar at all the local fairs. She never told her secret to anyone, and with Beckie died the gingerbread reciepe.

From The Charleroi Mail, April 27, 1909 :
Judge James Ingram yesterday refused licenses to all of the Greene county distilleries, the applicants being U. E. Lippincott of Lippincotts, R. W. Higginbotham of Grays Landing, and Gilpin South of Bald Hill. The Waynesburg Brewing Company, which constructed the only brewery in the county, was refused license last week. No retail liquor license has been granted in the county for 31 years. A century ago Greene county had nearly one hundred registered distilleries. The map is now pure white.

The above was taken from various sources including The Greensaver, G.Wayne Smith's History and others.

1939 Aerial Survey Photos - Mouth Of Ten Mile To Waynesburg

A reader sent me a link to a most interesting site called Penn Pilot - Historical Aerial Photographs Of Pennsylvania. It seems that on several occasions the entire state was photographed from the air for geological survey research purposes. Different groups of images were made from the 1930's through the 1970's. They are reproduced on a Penn State University website. Shown here are a group featuring Ten Mile Creek from the mouth at Millsboro to Waynesburg in 1939. If you want even closer views, go to the site itself, download the largest versions of the ones you want, if you use Windows , view them then in Windows Media. They open to very large photos : bridges, farms , coal mines , towns, steamboats on the river, to me it's fascinating stuff. In the future, I plan to take a closer look at some of these images and describe what I notice of their content.

The mouth of Ten Mile showing Fredericktown, Millsboro, Besco and Pitt Gas

Clarksville To Chartiers

Pollocks Mill, Jefferson and Mather

Waynesburg and east

The 1944 Emerald Mine Fire At Chartiers

It was a spark from a grounded trolley wire that started the Emerald Mine fire soon after seven pm on the evening of June 7, 1944. It fell into a load of hay, fodder for the horses that pulled the pitwagons. There was an attempt to push the burning car into a worked out section but the fire got out of hand and started burning the haulageway. The volunteer fire departments of East Bethlehem and Jefferson arrived as men women and children swarmed down the hill from the patch to see about husbands and fathers. East Beth Fire Chief Albie Tinelli sent four volunteers down the 400 foot shaft with hose but they had to return, the bottom was a raging inferno. Of the 157 men on the night shift all but 6 came out within a few hours, most of them by way of the Lippencott air shaft three miles away. Rescue crews from Tower Hill and Clyde went repeatedly into the mine but the flames drove them back. At the main shaft the women of Chartiers organized a canteen and were passing out coffee to the men as they worked.Mine rescue team of the 1940's
All the local mine officials were on hand, Thomas Lamb, superintendent of the Chartiers pit of Emerald, William G. Stevenson, general manager of the Hillman Coke Company, T.P. Latta, superintendent of Crucibile Steel's Monongahela River Mine, George O'Brian, superintendent of the mines at Allison and Tower Hill, Richard Maize, state secretary of mines, district inspectors from Waynesburg, Uniontown and Monongahela City, the Federal Inspector, U.S.Bureau of Mines engineers , William ( Billy ) Hynes, president of District 4 of the United Mine Workers, UMWA International board member Jock Yablonski and other union officials.

Emerald Mine Tipple at Chartiers 1930, looking north, MRy photo

Emerald is a gassy mine and as the flames spread the work became increasingly dangerous. After eighteen hours the state inspectors ordered the sealing of the mine to avoid further loss. If the fire remained unchecked it could start to burn into adjoining mines. Earlier when the Pike Run mine fire got out of control it burned for ten years. The old Coal Hill Mine on the southside of Pittsburgh caught fire in 1765, before they learned about sealing mines, and was still burning in 1820, looking "like the mouth of a volcano".

There was no hope to get the six men and thirty two horses who remained in the pit. Of the missing miners, three were unmarried, one was the father of five children. Another victim, Steve Barnish, a fifty-five year old machine operator, left nine children. Barnish had a home in Chartiers Village on the hill above the mine. Sixteen days after the mine fire a tornado came through, destroying many of the neat white colonial cottages of the patch. Among the dead were Steve Barnish's wife and one of his daughters.
It took twelve hours to seal the slopes and headings. They put in concrete blocks, covered them with a brattice and then plastered over the top. The mine remained sealed all summer and fall. When the mine was sealed, the adjacent Clyde Mines workings were shut down. For a while over 1900 men were idled in the Ten Mile Creek Valley, 640 from Emerald and the rest from the Clydes. By late December it seemed that the fire was out. It was risky to open a sealed mine because even if the fire is out the heat will have cooked a high concentration of firedamp out of the strata and nearly all oxygen would have been consumed. Of four Pa. explosions caused by mine fires, three were from sealed fires opened too soon.
When the inspectors got inside the mine, they found bodies identifiable only by lamp and check tag numbers. They were 2000 feet from the shaft and would have had time to escape through side routes but for some reason did not.
The clean up took several months and after almost a year after the fire, the Emerald mine was back in operation.

Blasting cap token, Emerald Coal and Coke Co., my collection


Tin sign courtesy unknown donor


Emerald's river tipple above the mouth of Ten Mile, on the present river bike trail. MRy photo

Emerald was originally called the Edward Mine and first opened in 1921. It was accessed by three mine shafts, two slope entries, and a bore hole 36 inches in diameter. The Chartiers Slope, Chartiers Fan Shaft, Chartiers Hoisting Shaft, The River Slope, and air vent, and the Lippincott Shaft. Coal was moved to the river tipple and also loaded onto railroad cars at Chartiers. When the 1944 tornado destroyed much of the original patch housing on Chartiers Hill Emerald Coal and Coke built the Burson patch. The Braden patch was another section of company-built housing for employees of the Emerald Mine, and is probably the last coal patch to be constructed in Pennsylvania. It was at that time a Hillman owned mine.
Renamed Gateway in 1963 by a subsidiary of the companies that used its output, this Morgan Township mine closed in 1989.

This Emerald Mine is not to be confused with the currently active Emerald Mine originally operated by RAG-Emerald and opened in 1977 in Franklin Township, Waynesburg Pa. It was first owned by Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. and has had several owners since.

Much of this is taken from the book Cloud By Day by Muriel Earley Sheppard.

Ten Mile Trivia # 2

Ten Mile Creek came to be called so because it's mouth is ten miles above Old Redstone Fort at Brownsville. In the early days they named creeks and other landmarks as being so many miles from a known place, as Brownsville certainly was in the early days. Islands also took mile marker names, for instance above Louisville Ky is 18 mile island then 12 mile island and then 6 mile island.
Some think the creek was named so because it's ten miles long. Not true, but ten miles up the creek is located the town of Ten Mile. Its Indian name is Cusuthee.
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The very first steamboat to travel to New Orleans and return by its own power was the ENTERPRISE, designed and built in the Brownsville boatyards and launched from the Brownsville Wharf in 1814.

"Saint Barbara , the patron saint of miners, was a young virgin who defied her father and decided not to marry. Because of this he kept her in a tower. She ordered some workmen to alter the tower while her father was away, thus becoming the saint of architects. After finding out about this her father chased her to the hills where she was swallowed up by the hill. Her name is attached to Santa Barbara, California. There is a prayer for miners dedicated to Saint Barbara:
"As I now descend into the dark bowels of the earth, I beseech thee, sweet Barbara, that I be kept safe from harm, for it liketh me not that I rush unbidden into God's presence."
Wilson's Port, later called New Geneva was a very early place for freighting flatboats and rafts.The land later was patented by Elias Stone and his wife in 1787 and was called Delight.

Augustine Dillner and his wife were the first settlers in what is now Greene county.They arrived as early as 1754 and in 1755 built a cabin close to Crow's Ferry ( Dillner ). The Indians were friendly with them till Lord Dunmore's war of 1774.


"While making a tour of the United States in 1837, General Santa Anna, President of Mexico, stopped in Washington Pa.on January 15. Following the custom of the time, he probably took breakfast at Hill's Stone Tavern ( now the Century Inn ) in Scenery Hill, Pa. This was only a year after the massacre of the Texans at the battle of the Alamo, and Santa Anna was not very popular, so there was no reception committee. All known of this visit was the mere mention in the local paper, The Examiner of his passing and a well grounded tradition that a local man named Brice, whose brother had drawn a black bean ( died ) at Goliad, lay in wait just west of town to take a pot shot at the self styled "Napoleon of the West" as the stage rolled by. Fortunately for Santa Anna the sheriff heard of the plot, and, probably against his personal inclination, gathered Brice into his official fold until the Mexican was safely through Washington. Incidentally, Brice was a dead shot, and might have saved the United States much trouble nine years later if the sheriff had let him alone."

Hills Tavern now Century Inn











UMWA LOCALS
6330 Chartiers
688 Clyde
4583 Clarksville
6151 Mather
6290 Nemacolin
6310 Greensboro
4731 Crucible
6159 Bobtown
762 Vestaburg
2300 Waynesburg

UMWA Band of 4583 Clarksville Stanley Fowler Collection

One of the most notable early teachers in Fredericktown was Jonathan Knight. He was later one of the most eminent engineers of his day and became Chief Engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. He was the inventor of the coning of RR car wheels so that cars stationary on their axles can run on curved tracks without spreading the rails. He surveyed a line ( never built) for the B&O through Greene County in 1836. He lived in Centerville Pa.

Augustine Dillner and his wife were the first settlers in what is now Greene county.They arrived as early as 1754 and in 1755 built a cabin close to Crow's Ferry ( Dillner ). The Indians were friendly with them till Lord Dunmore's war of 1774.

In 1826 the Str. REINDEER was the first boat to Morgantown.

"On February 11, 1850, the first steamboat came up the Monongahela River to the little town of Fairmont. This boat was the GLOBE owned by a man named Yeager. Its appearance created a great sensation among the people, for the majority of them had never seen a steamboat, much less had one come up to their very doors. When it became known throughout the country that a steamboat was to come up the Monongahela River at daybreak on February 11, the people for miles around gathered along the banks of the river as early as the afternoon before. When the whistle of the Globe was heard down the river, the courthouse bell was rung for two hours. The people had brought lunches, so they took the day off as a holiday; speeches were made, and the new wonder examined. Many of the citizens had a free ride up the river. That day was long to be remembered." It was two years before another boat arrived.

In 1856 slackwater, meaning locks and dams, were completed up to New Geneva, making navigation possible nearly year round.

Dry Tavern was named so because in early days there was a tavern there with no liquor sold. It was on the main road leading south between Pittsburgh and Virginia. For years it was the busiest north - south road west of the mountains. The road was laid out by John Crawford and went from Pittsburgh to Finleyville, Bentleyville, Beallsville, Millsboro, Charmichaels, Willow Tree, Rosedale to Morgantown. It was planned to be 60 feet wide.

Ruff Creek got it's name from an Indian named Ruff who lived there.

The first telegraph line in Greene county was erected from Rices Landing to Waynesburg in 1861.


Southwest Pennsylvania was claimed by the districts of West Augusta, Virginia and by Westmoreland, Pennsylvania. In 1776 West Augusta became Ohio, Yohogania and Monongalia Counties, in Virginia. . Greene County in 1776 was partly ( the western slope ) in Ohio county Virginia and partly ( the eastern slope ) in Monongalia County Virginia. The court house for Monongalia was near New Geneva Pa. on the farm of Theopolis Phillips. The court house for Ohio county was at West Liberty W. Va. Virginia law directed that at each court house there was to be a pillory, a pair of stocks, a whipping post and a ducking stool ( now called waterboarding ). Only the ducking stool was used for women.
By 1780 Virginia and Pennsylvania settled their boundary dispute placing most of the Yohogania County region in Westmoreland County. In 1781 Washington County was created from Westmoreland County. Greene County was created from Washington County in 1796.

Before the big modern dams you could at times cross the mouth of Ten Mile Creek by skipping from rock to rock. Other times, because of the volume of water coming out of the creek a very large sand bar would build up there and the river channel would have to be dredged for boats to pass.

Besco is named for the Bessemer Coke Company who operated the Champion mine there using all the coal to make coke in it's 100 ovens . By 1914 there were 257 ovens, a sizable operation. The railroad reached Besco around 1911 and that was the end of track until it was extended farther through Clarksville to Mather in 1919.
In Common Pleas Court in 1797, the following case was considered : The Sheriff of Greene County wishes Richard Swan to answer the charge that he bit off a piece of John Moore's ear thereby damaging the peace and dignity of the Commonwealth.

What's Under The Ground In Ten Mile Creek Country ?

These maps give one an idea of the condition of the the ground under us and the amazing extent of mining that's gone on here. The earliest of the mines shown here were worked starting around 80 some years preceding the late 70's when this map was made. All these open to large size.




There are only a few above ground reference points shown but I think there are enough to orient one as to what is seen.




Mather Collieries, solid line at right points north. They did not mine north of the town but to the south the mine went almost to State Route 21.

This shows the area from the river roughly south to Charmichaels

maps from collection of author

Mather - The Town And The Coal Mine

DESCRIPTION OF MATHER COLLIERIES PLANT BY J. R. ELLIOTT

The property of the Mather Collieries, consisting of about 4400 acres, is located at Mather, north of the village of Jefferson, Greene County, Pa. The operation is owned jointly by Pickands, Mather & Company; the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company; and the Steel Company of Canada, Ltd., Hamilton, Out., and operated by Pickands, Mather & Company, of Cleveland. The town of Mather is named in honor of Samuel Mather, senior member of the firm of Pickands, Mather & Company, and William G. Mather, of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company.

Topographical conditions were favorable for a splendid town site and the management decided that it was imperative to provide the best living conditions possible in order to attract the better class of mine labor. The tract of land available is of sufficient area to provide for 500 or more houses and yet provide sufficient space for each house. The streets are laid out to suit the topography and provide good drainage. Lots are 80 feet in width and from 105 to 120 feet deep.

Street Map of Mather.

The houses are built 20 feet back from the street line. Each house has water and sewerage. "Sanisep" closets are installed and have proven entirely satisfactory. Most of the streets have been macadamized with crushed slag with a coating of limestone screenings. Sidewalks of Cleveland sawed stone are laid. Ample fire protection is furnished from two 50,000 gallon tanks, located on a hill nearby, giving a pressure of from 60 to 80 pounds throughout the town. Shade trees have been planted along the streets, so that in a few years there will be no evidence that it is a coal mining town. Houses contain from three to six rooms each, but the five-room houses are most in demand.


Five Room house plan.

A three room house rents for 8.00, a four room for 9.50 and a five room house for 11.00 a month. Water is provided by a dam across the mouth of Browns Run formed by the embankment for railroad sidings. The drainage area is about four square miles and the water is impounded in a reservoir holding about 2,000,000 gallons. Water is pumped from the reservoir by a centrifugal pump to a raw- water tank from which it flows by gravity through a filtration plant of 100,000 gallons capacity per eight hours into a wet well, from which it is pumped direct to the tanks on the hill. Four-inch pipe is used for distribution, with 2 inch house connections.The water is analyzed weekly by representatives of the State Board of Health and has proven entirely satisfactory.


Theater with confectionery on left and library on right

In order to have a contented people, it is necessary that some sort of recreation be provided. A moving picture theater is in operation, in which all the latest and best pictures are shown several nights a week, at prices merely sufficient to pay for management and upkeep.


Recreation Building

On the opposite corner of the square is a recreation building containing bowling-alleys, pool-tables, and barber shop on the first floor, with a large dance-hall on the upper floor. The need for such a building in a community of this sort is evidenced when parties will come miles from surrounding country to attend functions and dances held in it. The town supports a baseball club which rendered a good account of itself last season and promises to do the same this year. A modern school takes care of the educational needs of the young members of the community. Religious services are held in the various buildings and sites have been reserved for those congregations who wish to erect their own church edifices. The company has a welfare worker and nurse, whose duty it is to visit the families and instruct them in American ways of living.


Club House

For the young single men and bachelors among the operating force, a club-house with all modern conveniences affords a quiet home. Taking all things into consideration, the town of Mather is located in one of the most charming spots in Western Pennsylvania and no effort or money has been spared to keep the town in harmony with its surroundings.
Map of town, railroad and mine

It is served by the Chartiers Southern Railway, owned jointly by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the New York Central Railroad, and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, connection being made with the Monongahela Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad at Millsboro on the Monongahela River. The coal is used entirely by the owners in by-product plants located at Toledo, Canton, and Cleveland, Ohio, and Hamilton, Out., being transported in 70-ton capacity railroad cars owned by the Mather Collieries.The coal dips to the southeast at about an average grade of 1.5 per cent, and the cover over the coal varies from 300 feet at Ten Mile Creek to 650 feet under the highest hills. The seam of coal as indicated by present development and numerous drill holes at various locations on the property will average six feet, nine inches thick and produce a tonnage of 10,000 tons per acre.
The topography of the property is typical of southwestern Pennsylvania, being a rolling agricultural country. The south branch of Ten Mile Creek flows along the southeast side of the property at an elevation slightly below 900 feet above sea level, and to the northwest elevations of 1100 to 1200 feet are reached on the property. The general direction of Ten Mile Creek is parallel to the Bellevernon anticlinal and forms the lowest elevation so far as the coal seam on the property is concerned. The creek valley is the only feasible route for a railroad outlet and necessitated that the surface plant and point of development of the property be located contiguous thereto, and a plant location was chosen near the southeast central portion of the tract, so that the haulage would be in favor of the loads.
The Chartiers-Southern Railway was located and built on the opposite side of Ten Mile Creek from the plant site. Owing to topographical conditions it was necessary to construct the sidings with one connection with the railroad. This involved the construction of a two-span, deck, plate-girder bridge across the creek and a passing track from the lower end of the yards to a point above the location of the No. 2 shaft. The yard is arranged for the ultimate storage capacity of 100 loads and empties, with ample facilities for switching between the two shafts, so as to avoid interference when it becomes feature determined the distance between shafts of 850 feet. It will be noticed that three loading tracks are provided for No. 1 shaft and two for No. 2 shaft. The product shipped is run-of- mine, but provision was made for separating and loading slack in case it should prove advisable. The sidings are laid with 90-pound rails on standard ties. All turnouts are No. 8. The track is ballasted with granulated slag.

Owing to the outline and location of the property it was decided that for the most economical operation it would be wise to consider the tract as two separate operations, but operated with the same surface plant; consequently, both shafts were designed as hoisting shafts — No. 1 to be used exclusively for hoisting coal and slate, and therefore for the larger output, and also to serve as an intake for air. No. 2 to be used for hoisting coal and slate, men, and supplies, and one compartment to serve as an air exhaust. The shafts are the same inside dimensions, the difference in arrangement of bun-tons being that they are so placed as to give a slightly larger area for exhaust airway in No. 2 and to provide room for stairway in No. 1, if deemed necessary. This stairway has not been constructed at the present writing. The shafts are concrete lined, with steel bunions and reinforced concrete partition between hoistways and air compartment.
From top of coping to bottom of coal, No. 1 is 341 feet in depth and No. 2 is 349 feet.
Ground was' broken August 20, 1917 on No. 1 and August 7, 1917 on No. 2. Coal was reached May 8, 1918 on No. 1 and May 20, 1918 on No. 2. The time required to sink and line both shafts was approximately nine months — an average rate of 39 feet per month. In normal times this would be considered slow, but, owing to war conditions, shortage of labor, and the work being located some five miles from a railroad.

Shop And Supply House

The building containing the shop and supply house is 39 by 138 feet, divided into four compartments — blacksmith, carpenter, and machine-shops and supply house. The blacksmith shop is equipped with two forges, a fan, and a hammer.
The carpenter and machine-shop contains a lathe, a hack-saw, a radial drill-press, a shaper and an emery-wheel. All machinery is operated by belt from a line-shaft driven by a 15-horse-power, alternating-current, 220-volt motor. In the design of this building, special regard was given1 to light and ventilation. A track extends the full length through the middle, so as to facilitate the handling of material, mine cars and locomotives.

The Hoist House is located near No. 1 shaft and houses the hoisting equipment, which consists of a "Vulcan" hoist with cylindro-conical drums 7.5 to 10 feet in diameter. An output of three cars per minute can be maintained, which insures a tonnage of over 3000 tons a day from the No. 1 shaft when the mine is sufficiently developed — at the same time hoisting the slate. Ventilation is afforded by a Jeffrey fan 14 feet in diameter and 6 feet wide, having an ultimate capacity of 350,000 cubic feet per minute. The head-frame and tipple are constructed of steel, concrete floors being installed in the tipple. The coal is dumped from self-dumping cages into either of two bins located side by side, from which it is fed by reciprocating feeders over stationary screens five feet in length, separating the coal into three sizes and delivering it onto the picking tables. The coal is hand picked, the refuse being handled by a refuse conveyor to the slate bin immediately under the dump chute. The coal after passing over the picking tables is dumped into a receiving bin, from which it is loaded into cars on either of two tracks. The refuse from the mine is dumped direct into a bin of 50 tons capacity, from which it is loaded directly into a 10-ton electric larry and hauled across the railroad sidings on an overhead bridge to a refuse dump. This dump is of such a height that with the land available for dumping purposes it will. no doubt, serve the life of the mine. In case it should prove insufficient at its present height, the larrys able to operate on a six per cent, grade, so that an extra height of 20 or 25 feet can be utilized.
The Lamp House and First Aid building is located near the power-house at No. 2 shaft. It is a two-story structure, the second floor being devoted to instruction in rescue work, etc., meetings being held once a week. The lower floor contains the lamp house, mine foreman's office and first-aid room.
In order to facilitate transportation, loaded and empty track haulage roads have been provided. Sixty-pound steel rail is used on main haulage roads and 25-pound on butts and rooms. At present the underground equipment consists of two 15-ton trolley locomotives, eight 7-ton storage locomotives for gathering, 13 short-wall mining machines, 400 mine cars of 2.75-ton capacity, equipped with roller bearings.

The production has reached 2000 tons a day this month and is constantly and uniformly being increased. Mining conditions are very good, the only drawback being exceptionally heavy draw slate in some sections of the mine but this is thought to be a merely local condition.

In conclusion, our firm wishes to express its acknowledgment to the various persons connected with the enterprise, for their hearty co-operation in bringing about the final consummation of the project, it being carried on under war-time conditions. Among those deserving of special mention are : Frank Armstrong, of Pickands, Mather and Company Cleveland, General Manager; the late W. L. McDonald, Superintendent during the greater part of the construction; J. W. H. Crofts, architect,of Cleveland, who designed the various civic buildings.


Safety award carbide lamp given To Pickands Mather miners

Water Tank and Pump House At Stoney Point, 1930. This supplied trains working Mather Mine. State Rt.188 overpass in background. Photo from Monongahela Railway.

Miner's check Tag

This story is taken from Proceedings of the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania‎ by the Engineers' Society of Western Pennsylvania and is a report on the mine and town as it was in 1922.
Mather Collieries began operation in 1918 and ceased in 1964. During it's 46 year history, the mine produced an estimated 33.4 million tons of coal.

A very partial list of the men who worked at Mather is here. My story about the Mather train station is here.

Wes Knisley has created an interesting site on Mather and the mine here. There are some rare old pictures of the mine, town and nearby area, well worth a look at. Also reproduced there are the contents of the Mather Mining Disaster book by Tony Bupka, printed by the Brownsville Telegraph newspaper. This book is quite rare, in my years of collecting I have only ever found two copies of it for sale. It is the best reference on the subject.

Jefferson

Jefferson Main Street 1866









Likely near the covered bridge at the railroad underpass. W.T. Hays was a photographer from Waynesburg who did a lot of work around Greene County.



This old Post Office was across the street from the present one. Jefferson's first Post Office was established in 1805.


From the History Of Education in Pennsylvania by J. P. Wickersham, 1886 : In the little town of Jefferson, Greene county, the Baptists of Southwestern Pennsylvania founded an institution of learning, in 1867, which was chartered under the name of Monongahela College, in 1871. The grounds consist of fourteen acres, and the buildings are comfortable though small. The endowment is $30,- 00O. Creditable progress has been made in securing apparatus and a library. The College admits both sexes, and several ladies occupy places in its faculty. The students number about seventy- five, only a few of whom are in the regular College course. Rev. H. R. Craig has been President from the first.The college did not make it long as a business and folded in the 1890's. In 1909 the Jefferson High School moved into the building.It was torn down in 1956.

Clicking this image opens a nice large map from Caldwells Atlas 1876



List Of Business 1876








Jefferson looking south, undated photo

Jefferson at one time had around 700 citizens. There was a grain mill, several tanneries, saddle shops,cooper shops, wagon maker shops, five saloons. It was a busy distributing center for the country trade. The Jeffersonian and Jefferson News delivered the latest news. It was often spoken of as the best place for the county seat, being on the main road between Rices Landing and Waynesburg, the two most important towns in the county. Colonel James Maxwell, a very prominent officer in the Revolution, is buried in the Presbyterian cemetery. When slack water was carried above Rices Landing and the Waynesburg & Washington Railroad was built to Waynesburg then the importance of Jefferson waned.

The Mather Train Station And The Chartiers Southern Railway

The Mather station is actually in Jefferson, was built in 1919 and still looks pretty good today. It, while not being " preserved " is not deteriorating. Now that the leaves are gone I can see this building from my window.
The railroad that built it was the Chartiers Southern Railway, owned jointly by the Pennsylvania, Baltimore & Ohio and New York Central Railroads. It became part of the Monongahela Railway in 1926. It was of two disconnected branches, one between Besco and Mather ( finished 1919) and the other between Crucible and Nemacolin ( finished June 7, 1920 ). This image was taken by the Monongahela Railway in the 1930's, looking northwest. Partly visible is one of the PRR gas electric cars that later ran for mail, freight and light passenger service. All the equipment that ran was PRR or Monongahela Ry's. CS Ry never had their name on any engines or rolling stock. This was a rather large station for the line, at Clarksville there was only a small open sided shelter built to accommodate passengers. I have an original blueprint of this building dated 1919, it was Nov.1,1919 that the railroad reached Mather. This was the end of the line until track was opened to Waynesburg on Jan.1, 1930.
Just south of here, near Stoney Point, the track branched off and crossed Ten Mile on an iron bridge and on into the Mather Mine.
Mather Station March 2009, looking good for 90 years old, image by author

This 1922 map shows the two parts of the CS Ry with the track ending at Mather. Shown also is the proposed track connection with Marianna at Clarksville. This, never built, was to follow Ten Mile's north fork along the Washington County side, past the Yablonski house to Pump Station and on to Marianna.