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Anthracite coal was first found in 1762, and then was used for the first time around 1769 by Obadiah Gore and his brother in their blacksmith shop in Wilkes-Barre. However, coal usage was generally restricted to local consumption need until the industry began to expand at the turn of the 19th century. [14]
An anthracite pile in Trevorton, Pennsylvania. Anthracite derives from the Greek anthrakítēs (ἀνθρακίτης), literally "coal-like". [9] Other terms which refer to anthracite are black coal, hard coal, stone coal, [10] [11] dark coal, coffee coal, blind coal (in Scotland), [7] Kilkenny coal (in Ireland), [10] crow coal or craw coal, and black diamond.
A grade between bituminous coal and anthracite was once known as "steam coal" as it was widely used as a fuel for steam locomotives. In this specialized use, it is sometimes known as "sea coal" in the United States. [72] Small "steam coal", also called dry small steam nuts (DSSN), was used as a fuel for domestic water heating.
NMMR's oldest mine: 1792 anthracite coal, "Old Mine." One of NMMR's oldest mine maps: 1859 anthracite coal map from Hazleton Coal Co. The NMMR contains digital and microfilm maps of surface and underground coal, metal, and non-metal mines throughout the United States. Some of the information that can be obtained from the repository includes:
In 1810, 176,000 short tons of bituminous coal, and 2,000 tons of anthracite coal, were mined in the United States. American coal mining grew rapidly in the early 1820s, doubling or tripling every decade. Anthracite mining overtook bituminous coal mining in the 1840s; from 1843 through 1868, more anthracite was mined than bituminous coal.
The state's Ridge and Valley province is home to one of Pennsylvania's most profitable coal fields in history, containing high-grade anthracite coal. The sediments deposited during the Mississippian Period came from highlands located to the southeast. Waves of mountain-building occasionally brought coarser-grained sediments onto the plain.
It is the only anthracite coalfield in West Virginia, unlike the bituminous coal found in the rest of the state. It has not seen any active mining in many decades. However, as early as 1798 [1] anthracite from Berkeley County and bituminous coal from Mineral County were the sources of coal supplying the government's Harpers Ferry Armory.
Pottsville's anthracite coal history began in 1790 when a coal seam was discovered by hunter Necho Allen. Legend has it that Allen fell asleep at the base of the Broad Mountain and woke to the sight of a large fire; his campfire had ignited an outcropping of coal. By 1795 an anthracite-fired finery forge was established on the Schuylkill River.