Into the Belly of the Beast: Exploring The Mines That Fed The Industrial Revolution
Disclaimer:
I feel the need to have one of those “Beavis and Butt-head are not role models. They’re not even human, they’re cartoons. Some of the things they do could cause a person to get hurt, expelled, arrested… possibly deported. To put it another way, don’t try this at home” warnings at the beginning of this post.
While Ed Mountjoy is NOT a cartoon character (although some may disagree), what he does is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, and you should just resign yourself to enjoying his adventures from the safety of your computer/smartphone screen. But since urban explorers tend to view “No Trespassing” signs as invitations to enter, I won’t bother coming up with a disclaimer of my own….I’ll just stand by what Mike Judge said, just insert Ed Mountjoy and abandoned anthracite mines for yourselves! 😉
Many Social Media users in Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) recognize Ed Mountjoy as the face of The Forgotten Coal Industry of NEPA’S Facebook page. But Ed’s following is quickly spreading beyond the “coal region” of Pennsylvania, and into the realm of the world-wide network of urban exploration. And understandably so, since within the “explorer” hierarchy, those who explore the territory below the earth’s surface definitely carry more prestige than those of us who remain steadfastly with our feet planted above the ground.
While there are coal deposits scattered about the world, the coal from Northeastern Pennsylvania is special because it is anthracite coal, which is more pure, harder, and of higher carbon content than any other type of coal on the entire planet. In the Western Hemisphere, 95 percent of the anthracite coal supply is located within the 500 square mile region of Pennsylvania that is the topic of Ed’s “Forgotten Coal Industry” Facebook page.
The story of anthracite coal mining in NEPA is complex. It’s about pioneering industry and the entrepreneurial spirit, as well as the darker side of greed, suffering, and human exploitation. During the coal era in NEPA, the elite Coal Barons (coal company owners, a.k.a. The 1%) built magnificent Victorian mansions, as their immigrant workers often lived in overcrowded, company-owned “patch towns”, while actually having to pay their employer for the supplies necessary to do their high-risk jobs that resulted in earning less than what we would call a “living wage” today.
The coal mines of Luzerne County have been abandoned for decades now, but Ed Mountjoy is on a mission to document and share whatever remains he can find that relate to our local coal mining history before these remnants are gone forever—especially those places or structures that are hidden away from us as we go about our daily modern lives full of urban sprawl.
While many urban explorers have documented popular local coal-related locations such as the Huber Breaker and Concrete City, Ed ventures into an area of local exploration that you never really hear about—the actual anthracite mines themselves. Since exploration is ultimately about documenting the remains and ruins of the places that touched the lives of the people who once lived, worked, worshiped, or played at these locations, Ed is honoring the men who worked in these coal mines by reminding us all about the physical reality of their confined work-space.
A Slope Leading To A Flooded Mine
One truth remains the same today as it did for the men who toiled daily underground decades ago in NEPA–anyone entering a coal mine faces many dangers such as underground floods, roof falls, a mine collapse, fire, and countless other methods of serious injury or death. A coal mine is not a glamorous place to be at all. The men working underground found themselves in an environment that was dirty, dangerous and most likely damp. Standing up straight is almost impossible because mine tunnel ceilings are too low. The air that you breathe in a coal mine is stale & dusty. The miners actually had to use pieces of lumber to prop up the roof in the area that they were working in, as an attempt to avoid being trapped or crushed by huge rocks. This knowledge gives anthracite mine explorers an adrenaline rush when something seems out of the ordinary during a mission.
“During a recent exploration, we thought we were hearing part of the mine collapsing, but it turned out to be some rocks sliding down an incline we just went up. That scared us but we were relieved to know it wasn’t the mine collapsing”, explained Ed.
Ed began seriously exploring abandoned anthracite mines at the end of 2010. He had explored the remains of two collieries (for those of you outside of the NEPA region, a colliery is a coal mine and the buildings associated with it) as well as other abandoned buildings as far back as 2006, so he was already interested in abandonments. “ I was informed about two mines and originally was just going to find them and get exterior photos of the openings into them”, he explained, “ After several attempts looking for them, we, a friend and I, found them and saw they were low mine openings, meaning you have to crawl to get inside. We decided to enter them and the interest just sparked from there after seeing what we had inside of those two low mines.”
When asked how he finds mines to explore, Ed responded, “Well, I normally do research about what mines were in opperation around a particular area before exploring. Sometimes, we’ll just run across a mine and, after exploring, will do research afterwards on what mines they may have been and what companies owned them during their years of operation. As for preparing to explore one of these mines, we’ll examine the conditions of the opening before entering; making sure the ceiling isn’t in horrible condition.”
Props Holding Up Mine Ceiling
As far as equipment goes, Ed approaches mine exploration on the lighter side by just carrying a flashlight, camera, tripod, and a drink. He is also sure to take someone else with him. “I NEVER explore any place alone”, he stated, “I always have at least one other willing friend who comes with me. You never know what can happen when exploring any abandoned place, and mines are no exception.”
I wanted to know if he ever got lost while engaging in his underground exploration adventures. Ed’s response was that he has never been lost, not even while exploring the largest mining system that he has been in, “I have a rather good sense of direction and can retrace my steps back, plus some of the mines still have arrows painted on the walls and ceilings pointing to the exit from back when they were mined”.
I was curious to know what Ed considered to be the most difficult aspect of this type of exploration. “Finding any mines that haven’t been sealed closed, and seeing if they are safe enough to enter, if they are still open. Most of the mines that were in operation have been sealed off, whether they were blasted shut, filled or grated off. Even many of the ones that were left open, either due to being forgotten about or just haven’t been attended to yet, have since collapsed on their own”, was his response. He further added, “It’s more dangerous than an above ground structure. The deeper you go, there is more of a chance that something can happen and less of a chance you’ll be found, unlike a building where if you get hurt, chances are you can get a cell signal and call for help. Mines and other underground places tend to have no cell service, so it’s best to tell another the location of where you’re going, in case something does happen”.
A Steep Pitch Mine
While describing what it is like to spend time in these abandoned underground work spaces today, Ed thoughtfully explained that it’s quite peaceful, “Its dead quiet in the old mines. The most you may hear, besides yourself and whoever is with you, may be a few bats, which I have seen hanging from the ceilings, and water dripping from the cracks in the ceiling. The quietness adds to the thought of knowing that at one point, there were men down there digging those tunnels, setting up those props and loading coal into the mine carts to go to the surface to be processed at the breaker, which, during those times, the mines would have been anything but quiet.”
I asked Ed what he was hoping to accomplish by exploring these abandoned anthracite mines. “To show others an aspect of our history that is overlooked today. Most know about the coal mining history, and others may have explored some of the places that are still standing, such as the Huber Colliery, but not many get to see the very mines where the coal was brought out of to be processed at these breakers. My photos are a way to document and preserve the history of a once prosperous industry”, was his response.
What really leaves an impression on Ed about these underground spaces where men had to work every day is “how low some of these mines were, and knowing that there were men who actually dug those low mine tunnels out to get to that coal. Just try to imagine crawling around in a tunnel no more than four feet tall trying to dig further into it, trying to reach as much of the coal as you can without the solid rock above you crashing down on top of you. That’s what it must have been like for those miners. What would probably surprise most people is how low some of these mines are and the fact that men were actually down there, crawling around, grabbing the coal from those low mines to earn a paycheck.”
A Prop Holding Up A Low Mine
You can follow Ed Mountjoy and all of his coal mining exploration endeavors on Facebook at The Forgotten Coal Industry of NEPA
“Because it’s their time. Their time! Up there!
Down here, it’s our time. It’s our time down here!”
–The Goonies
I encourage anyone interested in learning more about
abandoned mine underground research to visit :
The Official Website of Abandoned Mine Research, Inc.
and please note this warning about abandoned mine exploration:
Stay Out….Stay Alive!
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Cheri Sundra © 2012
All Rights Reserved
Cheri Sundra--Guerrilla Historian 
Great blog posts! My grandpa was 12 years old when he had to work in the coal mines around Wilkes-Barre, PA, following the death of his father in 1930. I cannot imagine sending my 12 year old into a mine, what a tough kid my grandpa was. He was just one of many kids in those mines. Keep up the good work!
It makes me wonder… why didn t people say “screw this, I ll feed my family in a different way”? It doesn t seem to be worth the risk or the so called progress.
Hi Alice,
Primarily because the coal mine owners at that time were engaging in businesses practices that included human trafficking and indentured servitude!
Many workers were recruited to work in the mines from their villages in Europe. Some workers were trafficked into the United States without proper documentation, much like illegal immigrants today. (Although in terms of discussing coal mining history, people tend to separate the idea from illegal immigration because of the Registry Act of 1929, the fact that in 1940 the government suspended the deportation of European immigrants because of “serious economic detriment to families” and a loophole that was widely used between 1935 and 1950, when Europeans unlawfully in the US were allowed to travel to Canada and then renter the US legally as a permanent resident, which was utilized by tens of thousands of immigrants, and also helps to explain the popularity of Niagara Falls as a vacation destination among that generation! 😉 But the first federal immigration law dates back to 1875—which meant that technically, the United States experienced an influx of “European Immigrants Without Proper Documentation” after that point).
So many of the workers who came here COULDN’T obtain employment elsewhere because they were not legally able to without the right documents…..Some immigrants couldn’t afford to book proper passage in order to come to the US and immigrate properly though check points like Ellis Island. They were snuck into the country and provided with false names (much like dubious employers traffic illegal immigrants in today and provide them with a false social security number) ….In 1929, not everyone could afford to come up with the $20 fee required to register as a legal citizen—leaving proper documentation standing between these workers and more humane employment opportunities….
The other practice that the mine owners engaged in , that impacted both immigrants and workers who were born on US soil, was that they required all employees to purchase the materials required to do the job from them, often leaving the workers perpetually in debt to their employer…..many miners lived in “company housing” which meant that to leave the mines would also mean that they would be left without a place to reside for themselves and their family….Not to mention the fact that entire extended families were often working/living together in the same mining community, so you had worry about what impact it could have upon your parents, siblings, cousins, aunts & uncles if you skipped out on your “indentured servitude” to the mine owners…..
~~Cheri