The Burning Rock: How Coal Influenced Our Culture
by Andy McAllister, Watershed Coordinator
In this new series at Abandoned Mine Posts, we take a fascinating journey back through time. It’s a journey of discovery and a journey of connections. It’s the story of how coal came to be part of Western Pennsylvania life and the story of the coal connections that would shape our future.
Part 3: The Stage is Set
In the early years of the 19th century, technological advances helped the Anthracite coal industry to get started in Pennsylvania. But well before those advancements were made, settlers in Western Pennsylvania came across Bituminous coal in a place called Mount Washington. As its use grew, local Bituminous coal found a place in Western Pennsylvania homes and industry during the latter part of the 18th century, but getting this fuel out to the masses for widespread use was, as we’ve seen elsewhere, a major problem. The terrain was too rough. As a result, Bituminous coal remained fairly well ensconced in Western Pennsylvania—for the time being. This transportation difficulty for the fledgling Pennsylvania Bituminous coal industry gave Anthracite one of the breaks it needed. The other break would come as a result of war.
At the end of the first decade of the 19th century, Great Britain’s relationship with the U.S. began to sour over details surrounding trade restrictions, Britain’s war with France, and the conscription of American sailors into the British navy, along with other assorted events. It was all a very complicated mess which led to the U.S. declaring war on Great Britain—a little something called the War of 1812. Of course, in declaring war, the U.S. really put itself into a pickle. You see, due to the war, all shipments of coal and other goods to the states were halted and any domestic bituminous coal coming from other states like Virginia was effectively cut off. It was a dismal situation—without coal, industrial advancement in Pennsylvania would come to a complete halt—or would it?
At the beginning of the 19th century, those simple technological advances led to more folks discovering the merits of burning Anthracite. During the war, these advances continued to progress especially given the fact that the U.S. was being starved for British coal. Even though Anthracite was becoming more widely used, there still wasn’t enough available to completely replace the need for imported coal. Citizens in the population centers of the east had to endure several winters under a coal shortage. In addition to giving the fledgling Anthracite industry a chance to grow, the war inadvertently stimulated domestic manufacturing. Out in western PA, Pittsburgh by virtue of its geographic placement near rivers and within relatively easy reach of raw materials, began to produce significant quantities of iron, brass, tin, and glass products. However, Pittsburgh was still relatively isolated from Philadephia and the rest of the East because of the Allegheny Mountains.
Street map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1795, which includes Fort Pitt, detail from Plate IV, Samuel W. Durant’s “History of Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania
Meanwhile, back in Britain, advancements in steam engine technology to pump water out of the mines, ultimately led to the creation of something that would really get coal moving—the steam locomotive. The first steam rail locomotive was invented in Britain in 1804 by a Mr. Richard Trevithick and over the next decade, continual improvements by other inventors led a Mr. George Stephenson to think he could do better. Stephenson worked in local collieries and was self-taught in reading and writing. In 1812, he became a colliery engine builder, and by 1814 he built his first locomotive. These early locomotives became invaluable to the coal and steel industry for transporting their products throughout Britain.
In America, after the war ended in 1815, Anthracite began to be the fuel of choice for heating American homes and for fueling Pennsylvania’s renewed industrial growth. Thanks to road improvements, Anthracite shipments to many of the Eastern population centers increased by the 1820s. Anthracite coal was finally on its way, but not as fast as folks would have liked.
When American industrialists and businessmen learned of the marvelous contraptions in Britain known as steam locomotives, they recognized the obvious transportation benefits and set about to import them, but as you could imagine, the shipping costs were a tad on the high side. After a time, American inventors decided to save on shipping costs and develop their own steam locomotives and by the early 1830s, several American-made locomotives were in operation between Maryland and New York. The locomotives were a hit. Of course by this time, with the steam locomotive manufacturing industry now firmly established in the U.S., there was a distinct need for rails for the locomotives to actually run on, not to mention a huge demand for coal to make the steel and fuel the locomotives. The stage was set for an explosive period of industrial growth in the U.S., the likes of which had never been seen before and Pennsylvania would be ground-zero.