Scout's Eagle project will clear No. 2 mine entrance in Export
A local Boy Scout's Eagle project will help keep Export Borough's legacy as a coal-mining town alive for current residents.
For his Eagle project, Troy Florian proposed clearing the entrance to the No. 2 mine, which is located near District Justice Charles Conway's court on Washington Avenue.
“Let me clarify that we are not reopening the mine,” joked Export Councilwoman Melanie Litz, also a member of the borough historical society.
The project would include clearing brush and debris from the remaining structure near the district court offices, along with pouring a sidewalk leading from the old Westmoreland Coal Company fan house, which historical society members marked with an interpretive sign in September 2017.
Litz said she would like to have a sidewalk created leading to the old mine entrance “to complete the historical designation we started with the fan house.”
Borough officials are working with the county to secure approval to access the district court property where the entrance is located.
The Westmoreland Coal Company began mining in Westmoreland County in 1854. The Export mine was the first major mine on the Turtle Creek Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the borough's first mines opened in October 1892 to ship coal to Philadelphia and New York.
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2862, pvarine@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MurrysvilleStar.
