1879 Strauch and Cochran Map of Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Fields

This is an 1879 George B. Strauch and A.B. Cochran map of Pennsylvania's coal region. The map depicts the region from Dauphin County to Wayne County and from Luzerne County and the Northern Coal Field to Berks County and Lebanon County. Six colors highlight the six different districts within the coal region, all of which are identified in a table situated along the top border. Mines are labeled within the districts, along with towns and other settlements. An inset on the lower right situates the anthracite coal fields regionally and details the transportation hubs that bring this incredibly important raw material to market. Data concerning each of the coalfields, including the collieries and their operators, appears along the bottom border and provides a better understanding of the economics involved in anthracite mining.

Anthracite Coal

Also known as hard coal, anthracite is a hard, compact type of coal with a submetallic luster. Possessing the highest carbon content, fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal, anthracite is the highest-ranking coal. It ignites with difficulty and burns with a short smokeless blue flame, which made it a popular fuel for heating homes. It has been burned for this purpose in southwest Wales since the medieval times.

Anthracite and Pennsylvania

According to legend, anthracite coal was first discovered in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, by Necho Allen in 1790. Legend has it that Allen fell asleep while hunting and awoke to find that his campfire had grown into a large fire after it ignited an outcropping of anthracite. However, history tells us that anthracite was first discovered in the Coal Region of Pennsylvania in 1762, decades before Necho Allen's fateful hunting trip, and the first commercial mine opened in 1775. Pennsylvania's production of anthracite grew exponentially and reached its apex in 1917 when over 100 million tons were produced. During the American Civil War, Confederate blockade runners burned anthracite for fuel since it did not produce smoke, which would have given away their position. A population boom arrived in Pennsylvania's Coal Region after the American Civil War. Large numbers of immigrants were attracted to the region by an increase in mining driven at least partially by the expanding railroad industry. The mining industry dominated the region until it began to decline in the 1950s. In 1959 the Knox Mine Disaster, an accident that killed twelve miners after workers were ordered to illegally mine under the Susquehanna River. Proper safety precautions were not taken, and the work created a hole in the riverbed, flooding many interconnected mine galleries. It took three days to plug the hole, and mitigation work created several new islands in the river and altered the western-side flow of the Susquehanna. The Knox Mine Disaster effectively ended deep mining in the region, which had completely faded away by the mid-1960s.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by George B. Strauch and A.B. Cochran and published in 1879. Per OCLC, editions and were published in 1878 and 1880. The present 1879 edition is not cataloged in OCLC. Only three examples of the 1878 edition appear in OCLC and one edition of the 1880 edition.