1818 Manuscript Survey of the Coal Producing Lands of the Lackawanna Watershed, Luzerne County, Penn

This is a fascinating manuscript survey, dated 1818, of the southeastern parts of Luzerne County, PA. The survey captures the region in the period just after the invention of the means of exploiting anthracite but prior to the development of the transportation infrastructure required to economically get it to market.

A Closer Look

The manuscript is oriented towards the northwest; it covers the lands between the Susquehanna River at top, and the Lehigh River below. The right-hand portion of the map details the Lackawanna River and its complex of tributaries. Several major towns are identified: Kingston and Wilkes-Barre straddle the Susquehanna, with the bridge joining them. Township borders are marked. Upstream from Wilkes-Barre is Pittston (an intervening town - Gohanta? - we have been unable to identify.)

None of the canals or railroads that would later characterize this region had yet been constructed; even roads are few. Bridges crossing substantial rivers are marked on the map, and one significant road is detailed, running from the bridge at Wilkes-Barre to the town of Stoddardtville on the Lehigh River. The road is labeled: the Wilkes-Barre and Easton Turnpike, and prior to the development of the canals and railroads later in the century, this was the main artery of the region. The bulk of the map's detail is in land ownership, with the lots numbered and marked with the owners' names. It was probably intended to record the sale of real estate (indeed, some of the many plots are marked sold).

A Key Coal Region

Anthracite coal had been discovered in this part of Pennsylvania in the 18th century, but it was not until 1808 that a viable method for burning 'Stone Coal' was devised. It was first burned for household use by tavern owner and judge Jesse Fell in 1808 (one of the plots of land noted on this map was assigned to him) This did not immediately result in a mining boom: the Lehigh and the Susquehanna were both treacherous rivers, and moving coal along them or along roads was so expensive and arduous that it remained cheaper to import coal to the United States' coastal cities from Great Britain than to haul it out of remote Pennsylvania. An early effort to canalize the Lehigh does appear on the map: the town of Stoddartville was built by John Stoddart in 1815, who with Philadelphia merchant Josiah White proposed to develop the river into a slack water canal. The Lehigh Navigation Company took over the operation of the venture in 1818.

The surveyor's initials, H. W. D., are noted on the map along with the year. We have not been able to identify the surveyor or any of his other works as of this writing.