Newspapers: Citizen Shopper, Coal Twp, Northumberland County, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Heather Sharp-Makal. hmakal@earthlink.net USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ____________________________________________________________ These articles have been submitted with permission of Mr. George Shroyer, Shroyer Publications. The articles contain several pictures, which I will list below. I could not include the pictures in the articles but will scan and email them to anyone upon request. Keep in mind these are black & white photos from old newspapers so I can't guarantee the quality of the scans. Picture List 1. Hickory Swamp Mine Patch 2. Big Mountain Upper Patch 3. Possession house at Lancaster Switch 4. Coal Run 1905 5. Possession house near Stirling Colliery 6. Possession house at Buck Ridge along Buck Run (Big Mountain) CITIZEN SHOPPER, MAY 09, 1973 Coal Township, U.S.A By Louis Poliniak The next two "souvenir" issues of the Citizen Shopper will be dedicated to Coal Township. I was born in Coal Township at Big Mountain No. 1 Patch, which was on the Buck Ridge side of Buck Run, a small stream. There were many mine patches located in Coal Township many years ago and with the aid of old and rare photographs I shall review the history of the small mining hamlets that dotted the hills and vales of the coal region, always within a stone's throw from a coal breaker. Some of the patches consisting of a few homes were in isolated areas and without any water or some form of transportation. The newly arriving immigrants entered the dilapidated structures with some misgivings; but there was no choice in the matter. Due to the large number of photographs to be published, the sketches will be printed in two installments. The photographs will need no description; they will describe themselves and you can choose your own vocabulary. I was born in a mine patch, therefore I shall not find fault with the place where I was born because there wasn't a better place in which to live at the time. Some of the residents obtained their water from a "public hydrant" that was turned on at certain intervals of the day to furnish the people living in the company houses with the much needed water. In other areas the inhabitants went to springs for water such as: Continental, Big Mountain No. 2, Buck Ridge and Greenback. The Philadelphia and Reading Coal Company hauled the water to Big Mountain No. 2 by teamster just to keep the houses occupied and the tenant satisfied because it was a possession house. People living in company houses had their coal hauled to their homes by the coal company's teamster. Kerosene lamps furnished the illumination in the dimly lit houses and lanterns were used out of doors to go to work, to the outhouse or cow stable, especially during a new moon. When a company house burned to the ground it was never rebuilt and quite a few of them were lost to fire. Lancaster Switch The first houses to be built by the coal companies were called "possession houses" and the Lancaster Coal Company built the first of its kind in 1835 at what became known as Lancaster Switch. It was north of the road leading to Coal Run and on the high side, nearly opposite a diner in that area. The second possession house was built on the same coal tract by the Buck Ridge Coal Company in 1838 and acquired by the Big Mountain Coal & Iron Company about 1855. This house is vacant and still standing at Big Mountain No. 1 Patch. The coal companies built the company houses for their employees and thus established small communities, depending on the size of the coal company and breaker. Some of the patches disappeared many years ago when the small structures were razed because of age and reconstruction. Some of the patches still remain and the original houses were sold to the tenants during the depression and when the mines were being abandoned. The new owners remodeled and improved the houses to suit their needs of the present day. The old company houses occupied by Poles and Ukrainians had their houses blessed at the time of the Feast of Epiphony. The Polish pastor would bless the homes of the members of his parish by walking through the rooms chanting a short litany and sprinkling holy water before him as he entered each room. When the house had been blessed, the priest, with a piece of white chalk, would write above the door on the door frame "KMB 1906" which meant Kaspar, Melchior and Baltasar and the year of the blessing. The three names are names of the Magi. The Byzantine Catholics and Orthodox perform a similar ritual after Christmas but omit the writing above the door. Even though the house was humble and squalid in appearance, it housed a human being and the Blessing of the Lord was envoked to provide the faithful with Spiritual Graces. Fidler's Green The company houses at Fidler's Green were built by the owners of Lambert Colliery which was located where the Big N has its large store. Buck Ridge A possession house was first built at Buck Ridge, then a few company houses were erected by the Buck Ridge Coal Company which was acquired by the Big Mountain Coal & Improvement Company in 1855. Nine tenement houses on the Buck Ridge side of the former Buck Ridge Coal Company were now occupied. Big Mountain The Big Mountain Coal & Improvement Company began to build company houses. Ten new homes were built and twenty in the course of construction. Four collieries were established on the lands purchased from the Lancaster Coal Company viz: Buck Ridge, Big Mountain, Garfield and Henry Clay. There was Big Mountain No. 1, where I was born; Big Mountain Upper Patch and Big Mountain No. 2 that contained three houses along the Doutyville Road. The last house near the top of the mountain was occupied by a Polish family and burned around 1907. There was a spring near the house and the huckleberry pickers years ago would stop here for a drink and refill their water bottles. I was there many times. Morgantown I don't believe that anyone knows of this settlement but me. It consisted of two double frame buildings to house four families and was owned by the owners of Henry Clay No. 1 Colliery and was located along the Big Mountain road midway between Peerless and Big Mountain coal breakers. These homes disappeared about 1886 when Henry Clay No. 1 was abandoned and the coal breaker was razed. Tanneytown This is another patch very few heard about over the years. It consisted of seven houses built along the south side of Shamokin Creek by the owners of Henry Clay Colliery in 1856. It was also known as the Clay Pitch and disappeared about 1890. A family by the name of Tanney was one of the first inhabitants, hence its nickname. An Armstrong family is believed to be the last resident of Tanneytown. CITIZEN SHOPPER, MAY 23, 1973 Coal Township, U.S.A By Louis Poliniak Coal Run The houses at Coal Run were built by the Lancaster Coal Company operators of Lancaster Colliery. Upon the lands of this coal company 150 houses of six rooms each were built. In 1868, the homes became the property of the Shamokin Coal Company, then Lancaster No. 2 and finally Smith & Keiser and then Shipman Coal Company who was the last operator of the mines. Old Brady The homes at Old Brady were built in 1885 by J. B. Douty. The operation was on the Brady Tract and the breaker was called Brady. A few company houses were built for the miners who worked at the mine. The small cluster of homes disappeared many years ago. I have an old photo of Brady and will show it at a later date. Continental There were four double houses at Continental: two of the houses were along the Reading Railroad and the other two were between the Northern Central Railway and Shamokin Creek. Only one company house of the Excelsior Coal Company belonging to Excelsior Colliery still remains. Excelsior breaker was dismantled in 1905. Fulton The company houses at Fulton were owned by the Excelsior Coal Company as part of Corbin Colliery. The post office name is Excelsior and quite a few houses are still in existence at Fulton. Dewees There were about five houses in Dewees Patch at Excelsior in the Enterprise Section. The homes were part of Mt. Franklin Colliery which was a failure and the operation was acquired by the former Enterprise Coal Co. The homes were raised many years ago. Enterprise The houses at "Three Blocks" were the original company homes of the Enterprise Coal Company built in 1866 and were attached to Enterprise breaker. The Enterprise Coal Company also owned Margie Franklin Colliery and the company houses of this operation were located on Shanty Hill. One must bear in mind that each breaker had its own set of company houses as that was the custom at the time. Shanty Hill The small cluster of homes about 7 or 9 was located opposite Garfield Colliery on the Buck Ridge Colliery operated by Isaac May in 1864. The small patch was acquired by the P & R C & I Company and abandoned between 1892-1895. Garfield Garfield consisted of two company houses. One was located near the breaker and was quite large and the other was down in the hollow near the ball field and close to a spring. The house was occupied by a Ukranian family and burned to the ground. The company houses were built in Garfield Park . My parents lived in Garfield and my father helped dismantle Garfield breaker. The place was named after President Garfield when he was assassinated. Burnside The company houses at Burnside were built in 1864 by Stephen Bittenbender, operator of Burnside Colliery. It was named after General Ambrose Everett Burnside, of Civil War fame. In 1877 the operation was acquired by the P & R C & I Co. Stirling Stirling Colliery opened by Fulton & Kendrick in 1876 had one possession house and it was destroyed by fire on January 1, 1972. The colliery was named after Mary Stirling who was Isaac May's mother