Two years ago, the Jacobs Creek Watershed Association began a project to find, research and identify local mines that attracted many of the immigrants that settled in the Mt. Pleasant area.
“Most of the people who live in this region migrated here because of the coal and coke industry, yet there is very little to honor the industry and the men and boys who worked it. We need to change that,” said Cassandra Vivian, the project's manager.
She termed coal mining as being one of a number of industries in the region that helped build America.
“We were the fulcrum, the center, and without what was done here, America would not have become the great nation it was,” Vivian said. “We need to honor those who worked in the industry, and we need to teach our children about the rich heritage that is theirs.”
The project included researching the early coal mines and coke ovens of the H. C. Frick Coke Co. with a brief history of them to be shared through a sign along the Coal & Coke Trail and an accompanying webpage, Vivian said.
“Not only will (the sign) show the general area of the mines, but also the old railroads, the trolley tracks and the streams,” she said.
The sign will also include a QR code to access the webpage on jacobscreekwatershed.org. The Internet information will include, a map, photos and histories of the mines, Vivian said.
“A simple click on the code will take a smartphone or tablet (user) directly to the Internet site,” Vivian said.
To Annie Quinn, the association's executive director, the project's primary objective is to educate the public about the location and history of local mines, the legacies of which her organization is all too familiar, she said.
Several creeks within the watershed are heavily impacted by drainage from the same mines, Quinn said.
“Using our watershed implementation and restoration plan, we have identified, prioritized and started projects that will return streams to the thriving ecosystems that our area deserves,” she said.
But the first step, she reiterated, needs to be education.
“We need people to understand the magnitude of the source. The sign will help to educate the public about the size, location, and outcome for each mine,” Quinn said. “The number of mines is astonishing. Using that information, I hope we can all work together to (rid) Jacobs Creek and sources of abandon mine drainage.”
The project has only been possible thanks to Vivian's painstaking research and investigation, she said.
For the past five years, Vivian has conducted research on the Frick mines, she said.
She has found much conflicting information within the source material, and several perplexing questions that hopefully further research by people who live in the region can help solve, she added.
The project is also lacking sufficient photographic evidence, and Vivian is hopeful people will come forward with supportive images, she said.
The association is looking for photos of the mines and men working there.
Such photos can be donated or loaned, to be scanned and returned.
Quinn said the project was funded by grants through the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation.
“Our basic mission statement is to preserve and to interpret the industrial heritage of the region, and this certainly falls into our mission with the coal and coke industry of Southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Jeff Leber, the corporation's vice president and chief executive officer.
“We think it's important to preserve and interpret sites where they are,” he said.
Rivers of Steel gave the Jacobs Creek Watershed Association $2,000 for the project, which the corporation was given to administer by the state's department of conservation and natural resources, Vivian said.
The association had to match the funding and received donations from Mt. Pleasant Borough, Mt. Pleasant Glass & Ethnic Festival, Coal & Coke Trail, Republic Services, Harley N. Trice and in-kind donations from the Pennsylvania State Library, Helen C. Frick Archives and the University of Pittsburgh, she said.
The program is also considered to be under the auspices of the Mt. Pleasant Cultural Trust, Vivian said.
The sign should be erected and webpage should be active in about a month.
Those with information or photographs of the mines and workers are asked to call 724-542-4949.
Linda Harkcom is a contributing writer for Trib Total Media.
