Youghiogheny River Trail is a pathway to history

A number of recreational activities are scheduled along the Youghiogheny River Trail this summer.

One event, the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Port Royal Mine disaster on June 10 is a reminder that the trail is more than just a pathway through the woods, according to Bill Metzger.

'It's an archaeological treasure,' said Metzger, a writer from Mt. Lebanon who is working on a trail guidebook.

Metzger counts more than 50 old deep mines along the length of the Youghiogheny River and Allegheny Highlands trails in the 100-mile span from McKeesport in Allegheny County to Meyersdale in Somerset County.

The two trails are part of the Great Allegheny Passage, an unbroken hike and bike path that is being developed from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

Although it's hard to imagine now from the verdant trail that follows the Youghiogheny River, Metzger said contemporary accounts talked of 'not a tree growing' at points along the former rail line.

'At one time the lower Yough was one of the most industrialized areas in the world,' Metzger pointed out.

PORT ROYAL DISASTER

The 1901 Port Royal mine explosion is overshadowed by the Darr Mine disaster that took place in 1907, several miles south at Van Meter.

With 239 miners killed, the Darr explosion was one of the worst underground catastrophes in U.S. history, and one of a series of mine disasters that gave December 1907 the name of 'The Dreadful Month.'

Official records show 19 miners killed in the Port Royal explosions the afternoon of June 10, 1901. The deaths are particularly poignant because most of those who perished were rescue workers caught in a second mine explosion.

Lloyd Thompson, an area historian who has studied the Port Royal disaster, said most of the miners are buried in West Newton Cemetery, but one John Peebles is still entombed in the mine.

The mine, owned by the Pittsburgh Coal Co., included three tunnels that ran under the Youghiogheny. Thompson noted that the Port Royal works was unique in that it used compressed air equipment to mine coal.

He said the mine was flooded to extinguish the fire that followed the explosion and that it was never reopened.

The village of Port Royal predated the mine and was once the site of an early courthouse, according to Thompson.

But the old village of Port Royal itself, like the mine and the memory of the men who perished there, has faded into history. There is still a Port Royal Village mobile home community, and the Rostraver Township municipal building is located on Port Royal Road.

The remains of coke ovens can still be seen on the east bank of the river near what is now the community of Fitzhenry.

David Hamilton, a retired miner with 42 years service underground, and head of 'the over-the-hill gang' that volunteers to maintain the Westmoreland County section of the trail, is planning the 100th anniversary observance.

It is being held in conjunction with the 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Trail Appreciation Day, sponsored by the Westmoreland Yough Trail Chapter, at nearby Cedar Creek Park. Participants will walk or bicycle from the park to mile marker 38 for the 2 p.m. service.

Although all the plans aren't finalized, the service will include prayers led by a minister and a memorial lament by a bagpiper, Hamilton's son, Scott.

Hamilton also contacted the Coal and Coke Heritage Center at Penn State Fayette Campus for help in identifying the lost miners. Center coordinator Pam Seighman, in turn, requested from the Penn State University Park archives a 1901 state Bureau of Mines annual report, which should list those who died in the explosions. She hopes to receive it in time for the names to be read at the June 10 service.

Robert McKinley, the manager of the Regional Trail Corp., would like to see a permanent memorial that includes the names of those who perished in both the Port Royal and Darr disasters, and he said the Rostraver Rotary has expressed interest in the project.

HERITAGE PRESERVATION

The nonprofit Regional Trail Corporation is celebrating its 10th anniversary, and now that its section of the trail from McKeesport to Connellsville is complete, McKinley said he would like the group to become more involved in interpretation of the trail's history.

In addition to the abandoned mines, the trail is a honeycomb of ruins of coke ovens that come into view in the fall and winter as vegetation dies off and trees are denuded, and disappears into the scenery in the spring as the area greens up.

Those who use the trail on a regular basis are aware of its rich history,

'I see the coke ovens when I walk by,' Bill Anderson, 65, of Dunbar Township, noted on a recent day.

Andy Miller a local Boy Scout and his troop, erected a wood sign pointing out the industrial heritage, as an Eagle Scout project several years ago. The troop also cleared away vegetation from several adjacent coke ovens.

Just off the beaten path, explorers can also find the foundations of coal tipples and other mine buildings.

Geno Gallo, the owner of the River's Edge campground, said he was in the process of clearing off property adjacent to the trail to bring coke ovens and other mining structures into view. He said that there are remains of both a mine and coke yard at the campground that he would like to develop into an historic park.

At Shoo Fly Hollow, also in the Adelaide area, a coal face that was once part of an underground mine was exposed when its roof was torn off to allow for the installation of a natural gas pipeline.

'You can see and touch the Pittsburgh seam,' McKinley said excitedly.

He also noted that there are vestiges of even earlier iron furnaces along the trail, where early manufacturers loaded shallow-draft flat boats with pots and pans for delivery down the Yough.