The Deep River Coalfield: Two Hundred Years of Mining in Chatham County, North Carolina

by Heather Hawk Maxwell

Overview

 The region along Deep River in central North Carolina once boasted a small but significant coal mining industry that from the early 1800s to the end of the 20th century provided fuel for manufacturing and domestic use. Confronted by natural obstacles and other challenges—including a devastating explosion in 1925 that killed 53 men and boys—entrepreneurs made numerous attempts (some successful, some not) to harness the power of coal in a state still defining itself in a modernizing nation. Iron forges and hearths required ample supplies of coal to meet local demand, and the Deep River deposits provided them when no others existed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476629025
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	07/21/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	244
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

James H. Chapman has for twenty years researched and written about his family’s involvement in coal mining in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and in Wales. He lives in North Carolina.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Preface 1
Introduction 3
 1. Geological Aspects of the Deep River Basin 7
 2. Early History of the Deep River Coalfield 12
 3. Geology as a Science Stimulates Geological Surveys 19
 4. The Antebellum Period 36
 5. The Deep River Coalfield at the Time of the Civil War 48
 6. ­Post–Civil War Considerations 60
 7. The 1880s Through 1900 78
 8. The 1895 Mine Explosion at Cumnock 94
 9. The 1900 Explosion at Cumnock 109
10. Coal Production in North Carolina, 1900–1925 115
11. Tragedy Strikes Coal Glen: May 27, 1925 127
12. The Nature and Causes of Mine Gases 138
13. The State of Coal Mining After 1925 142
14. New Challenges for Coal Mining 145
Conclusion 155
Appendix A: The Dan River Coalfield 157
Appendix B: Jackson’s Survey of the Deep River Coalfield 159
Appendix C: ­Daddow-Bannon Map of the Deep River Coalfield 162
Appendix D: Transcript of Inquest Concerning the December 19, 1895, Disaster at Cumnock 164
Appendix E: Individuals Killed at Farmville Mine, 1925 168
Appendix F: Total Tonnage Mined Yearly at Deep River 172
Appendix G: Company Records 174
Appendix H: Active Coal Mining Companies, 1867–1896 176
Chapter Notes 178
Bibliography 217
Index 225

Editorial Reviews

documents the history of mining in Deep River, North Carolina”—ProtoView.

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