PABEDFOR-L Archives

Archiver > PABEDFOR > 2001-03 > 0983989645


From: "Batha Karr" <>
Subject: Re: Broadtop Mountain
Date: Wed, 7 Mar 2001 10:27:25 -0800
References: <008501c0a659$976ee020$5018500c@oemcomputer>


Broad Top Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Source: History of Bedford and Somerset Counties by Blackburn and Welfley,
1906, Volume I, page 224


Coaldale Borough

The borough of Coaldale was erected out of Broad Top township, on September
9, 1865. It was originally called "Fairplay." The post office is Six Mile
Run. The borough is situated on a stream of the same name as the postoffice,
and along which extends a branch of the Huntingdon and Broad Top railroad.

It was laid out in 1855, on the land of A. W. Evans, who had erected the
first house some years prior thereto. The second house was built by Lewis
Anderson. In 1854 Lemuel Evans opened up the first store, and the following
year G. W. Figard and Henry Rees were pioneer settlers. The borough now
contains three or four churches, two hotels, a number of general stores,
besides confectioneries, blacksmith shops and other useful small industries.
The Inhabitants are mostly engaged as miners or otherwise in the coal
business.

Batha Karr


----- Original Message -----
From: Batha Karr <>
To: Batha Karr <>; <>;
<>
Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2001 8:22 AM
Subject: Re: Broadtop Mountain


> Broad Top Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania
> Source: History of Bedford and Somerset Counties by Blackburn and Welfley,
> 1906, Volume I, page 222-224
>
> "The first coal shipped from Broad Top was taken out of Six Mile run at
the
> mouth of Shreves run. The two creeks coming together washed the coal bare.
> Ben Foster and Dave Shackler dug the coal, sledded it to Riddlesburg, and
> built an ark and ran it down the river, how far I do not know, but I have
> heard Uncle Ben tell about running the great falls, and I think they were
> below Harrisburg. There was coal taken from Riddlesburg mine about that
> time.
>
> "The first profitable coal mine on Broad top was the Shoops run coal. It
was
> opened up where Dudley now is. I do not know who first opened it up, but
> Barnetts worked it as far back as I can recollect, and did a good business
> selling it in winter, when in good sledding it was hauled as far down as
> Mercersburg and sold or traded for store goods.
>
> "The Cook coal bank was opened at an early day by John Cook, who lived and
> owned where Broad Top City now stands. He did a quite a business for those
> days in the way of selling coal to peddlers who bought it and hauled it
> south as far as Loudon and Hagerstown, and traded the coal off for
dry-goods
> or sold it. The Cook coal is the lower seam in the region and is divided
by
> three slates and I was told they worked for some time before they found
the
> upper bench and that was found by cutting a water drain.
>
> Other valued articles by the same hand will appear under "Miscellaneous
> Sketches."
>
> Riddlesburg, named in honor of Samuel Riddle, its founder, was an early
> settled locality, although its history as a village dates only from the
> establishment of its furnaces. The land on which it is situated was
> purchased by Samuel Riddle, who laid out a small town here prior to
1880,and
> named it Allensport. He was an early coal shipper from the Broad Top
field.
> His operations only continued a short time, and Riddlesburg disappeared
from
> the map of Broad top, until resurrected by the building of the railroad in
> 1856, and later on, in 1868, by the construction of the furnaces, when it
> built up rapidly and since which time has been an active business mart.
The
> furnaces are now owned and operated by the Colonial Iron Company, and the
> population of the village is mostly employees of the company. The village
is
> also supplied with a large store, a church and a graded school.
>
> Kearney, Defiance and Langdondale are populous villages to the heart of
the
> coal region, containing good hotels, stores and numerous miners'
dwellings.
>
> Batha Karr
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Batha Karr <>
> To: <>; <>
> Sent: Monday, March 05, 2001 11:21 AM
> Subject: Re: Broadtop Mountain
>
>
> > Broad Top Township - Bedford County, Pennsylvania
> >
> > Broad Top township, situated in the ne part of the county, was taken
form
> > Hopewell and created into a separate township April 16, 1828. Dr.
Jeremiah
> > Duval was one of the earliest pioneers of this region. He came from
> > Annapolis, Maryland, and brought with him a number of families besides
his
> > own. He secured title to his land here in 1785. The wife of Jeremiah
> > Shreves, one of Dr. Duval's colonists, was the first person buried in
the
> > old cemetery known as Duval's graveyard. She came after her husband, and
> > died the night following her arrival.
> >
> > The surface of Broad Top region is rough and rugged, but is underlaid
with
> > vast field of coal, and mining is decidedly the chief industry of the
> > people. The following valuable sketch concerning Broad Top coal was
> prepared
> > about ten years since, by the time honored and most intelligent
citizens,
> > William Foster, who died September 3, 1902, at the advanced age of 81
> years:
> >
> > "The first coal ever used on Broad Top was dug out of the bed of Six
Mile
> > run, near the Mountain House, by a man named Nathan Horton - a
blacksmith,
> > who came to Broad Top about 1750 or 1760, where he put up a blacksmith
> > shop, - who told me he dug his coal about one mile; and his brother
> Samuel.
> > who settled on the Thousand Acre tract, got his coal there too. The
> Hortons
> > were all blacksmiths to the fifth or sixth generations. the youngest one
> of
> > the family was John, who married a Miss Aloway and moved to Woodbury,
this
> > county, and I think one of his sons is blacksmithing there today. About
> the
> > year 1856 I opened the old mine and could see the pick marks in the coal
> > distinctly. I feel sure that was the first coal ever worked on Broad
top.
> >
> > more tomorrow...
> > From History of Bedford and Somerset Counties by Blackburn and Welfrey -
> > 1906
> >
> > Batha Karr
> >
> >
> >
>
>

This thread: