The Indian Ridge Colliery Breaker is pictured at center and at right are company patch houses. The photo was taken on June 17, 1885.
From a series of articles that appeared in the Pottsville Republican and Herald in 1997:
The Indian Ridge Colliery was located at the eastern end of Shenandoah City on the Shenandoah Creek. The colliery was opened with a shaft sunk by Kendrick, Dovey & Davis in 1870, and on January 18, 1871, miners reached the Mammoth Vein 310 feet from the surface.
The shaft cut through the seven-foot veins at 257 feet and the Primrose Vein 310 feet from the surface.
In 1871, a pair of powerful hoisting engines was erected and two breakers were built on a new and improved plan. They were located 100 feet from the shaft.
The first shipment of coal was made in 1871 and 80,560 tons of coal were shipped in 1872.
In 1872, the Philadelphia & Reading Coal and Iron Company came in possession, and in 1873 the west workings were driven into the North Dip workings of the Plank Ridge Colliery.
The connecting of the two collieries met with the approval of the state mine inspectors to afford a better ventilation system for both collieries. This was the beginning of connecting all of the collieries in the Shenandoah basin east of Shenandoah City.
In 1884, an air shaft was sunk 93 feet from the surface to the Mammoth Vein and a new 18-foot fan was erected to ventilate the Indian Ridge, Plank Ridge and Shenandoah City Collieries that were connected at this time.
In 1891, a new underground shaft was sunk 170 feet from the Mammoth Vein to the Buck Mountain Vein and gangways opened east and west.
On June 1, 1905, Indian Ridge was consolidated with Knickerbocker Colliery and the coal was then prepared at the Knickerbocker Breaker.
In 1908, the old Knickerbocker No. 3 Holmes Slope was reopened for a distance of 489 feet.
One December 1, 1909, the preparation of the Indian Ridge coal was changed and prepared at the Shenandoah City Breaker.
In 1911, the No. 6 Holmes Slope was sunk 271 feet to the basin and the Primrose Slope was sunk 273 feet to the first level. Both slopes were completed in 1912.
That same year, and 800-foot plane was completed with an engine on the surfaced to operate it.
All mining ceased at Indian Ridge October 28, 1932, and the total shipment of coal from Indian Ridge Colliery as of 1927 was 8,581,999 tons.
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Article by Frank Blase, Historian, Reading Anthracite Company Historical Library, Pottsville Republican & Herald, July 5, 1997. Obtained from Newspapers.com.
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