Maryland Coal Mine Mapping Project |
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Search the Collection Project ConstituentsFrostburg State University 
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Maryland's Coal Mines
In 1755, George Washington described the George's Creek Coal Basin as possessing "the fuel of the future"- so much mineral wealth as to "astonish the countries of the Old World" (Ware, 1991) Western Maryland is not only rich in mineral deposits such as coal, but also in the culture and heritage of its coal mining roots in history. The people and places played an important part in developing Western Maryland economically and culturally. The first shipments from the Maryland coal fields were made in the early 1820's when small amounts of the bituminous coal were transported by barges down the Potomac River. After construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1842 and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1850, the production of coal from Maryland mines increased very rapidly to meet the rising demands for cheap fuel in the eastern cities. Deep mine production in Western Maryland peaked between 1900 and 1918, when thousands of miners extracted as much as 5.5 million tons a year from the ground. Thereafter, annual production was at 4 to 4.5 million tons until after World War I. By this time, the region's primary coal seam, the Pittsburgh Vein, or "Big Vein" as the local miners called it, was exhausted and production dropped off. By 1941, hundreds of underground mines had been abandoned and the industry adopted surface mining as the predominant method of extraction. (McHarg and Muhlenberg, 1966). Maryland now has 450 abandoned mines that pre-date the Surface Mine Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA) of 1977. Many of these abandoned mines have left a terrible legacy for area residents. Acidic discharges high in concentrations of heavy metals have left waterways in the area severely impaired. Blackened gob piles, abandoned mine equipment, localized subsidence areas, highwalls, barren landslide areas, erosion, open pits with standing water, and stream sedimentation are reminders of the early days of coal mining. (Source)
Project Historian On BoardDr. Vagel Keller, a Historian and Professor of History at Carnegie Mellon University has begun to write an encyclopedia style log of all of Western Maryland's coal mines. Dr. Keller is preparing one page histories for each mine showing how they changed hands over the years, who the different owners were and how much coal was removed during the lifetimes of the mines. A sample page can be viewed here (PDF). 
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Maryland's coal formations are part of the great Appalachian coal field which extends from
Northern Pennsylvania to central Alabama, a distance of some 800 miles.Reports from early explorers
of the 18th century described Western Maryland as having, "inexhaustible beds", "easy to dig", and "coal
of good quality".