The Locust Spring Colliery, near the Schuylkill County line in Northumberland County, is shown on the left and the town of Locust Gap and the Bradley School, on the right. Locust Spring houses are in the center between the power house and breaker.
From a series of articles that appeared in the Pottsville Republican and Herald in 1997:
This is the third of four installments on the history of the cluster of collieries in the Locust Gap operated under the same name prefixed by “Locust.”
In 1862, Parvin and Heaton opened the Locust Spring Colliery by sinking a slope on the North Dip Mammoth Vein. They reopened the Locust Creek Drift, mining the Bottom Split and also the Top Split Vein opened by a cross-cut from the Bottom Split Vein.
They erected a breaker at the slope and mined until 1860, when they failed.
In 1884, Connor & Patterson leased the colliery and sunk the South Dip Mammoth Vein slope 490 feet, from which gangways were driven east and west. They mined the slope and the Locust Creek Drifts until 1866, when the partnership was dissolved and the operation stopped.
In 1867, Graber, Kembel & Company succeeded in the operation of the colliery. The Mammoth Drift at this time had been driven 3,100 feet west to the land line and the Top Split Vein 1,400 feet. The slope gangways were driven west 1,400 feet and east 800 feet to the land line. Graber, Kembel & Company continued operating until 1869, when J. Bartholomew & Company leased the colliery. They erected a new beaker close to the old breaker and, in 1871, they failed.
Carter & Gorman succeeded in the operation of the colliery and continued mining the slope gangways to 1873.
In 1873, the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Company took possession by purchasing the lands and making extensive improvements. in 1874, they extended the slope a total length of 1,185 feet in three successive lifts that were quickly developed by gangways driven east and west. Also, a traveling way for the second outlet was made from the bottom level to the surface.
In 1884, a new air hole 588 feet long was driven to the Skidmore Vein and a shaft 8 feet square and 42 feet deep was sunk from the Upper East Mammoth Vein gangway to the airway for ventilating the Skidmore Workings independent from the Mammoth Vein.
In 1885, a convenient and safe second outlet for all the workings west of the hoisting slope was made 1,575 feet to the surface.
In 1890, miners began driving a tunnel south across the basin to the North Dip Mammoth Vein and, by 1891, had driven 777 feet to the North Dip Orchard Vein and, by 1891, had driven 777 feet to the North Dip Orchard Vein. It was finally completed at a total distance of 1,550 feet during the same year they opened the Buck Mountain Vein by a tunnel driven 400 feet from the Mammoth South Dip Gangway.
In 1894, the western slope was sunk on the South Dip Mammoth Vein, 9,400 feet from the breaker.
In 1899, the sinking of the main shaft was started that reached a depth of 718 feet to the landing.
In 1904, the old slope was extended 306 feet from the third to the fourth level.
In 1905, they sank the slope 300 feet on the North Dip and opened gangways and a new hoisting engine, 40 x 50 with an 18-foot drum, was erected at the shaft.
On July 14, 1909, fire was discovered in the East Top Split Gangway on the North Dip third level. This gangway had been driven to its boundaries in March 1904 and was in the process of being robbed out. Upon completion of building dams, water was turned into the area on fire and flooded August 9, 1909. A complete description of this fire is available.
The total coal shipments from Locust Spring Colliery were 10,209,613 tons to 1922.
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Article by Frank Blase, Historian, Reading Anthracite Company Historical Library, Pottsville Republican & Herald, April 26, 1997. Obtained from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.