Eckley Miners' Village facts for kids
Miner housing in May 1970
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| Established | 1970 |
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| Location | Foster Township, U.S. (near Hazleton) |
Eckley Miners' Village is a special place in eastern Pennsylvania. It's like a time capsule showing what life was like in a coal mining town. This village, located in Foster Township, was once a busy "patch town" where people lived and worked in the anthracite coal mines. Since 1970, Eckley has been a museum, managed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, helping visitors learn about its past.
Contents
The Story of Eckley Village
From Shingletown to Coal Town
Long ago, before the 1850s, Eckley wasn't a mining town at all. It was a quiet, wooded area called Shingletown. People who lived there used the trees to make shingles, which are thin pieces of wood used for roofs. They sold these shingles in nearby towns like White Haven and Hazleton to get what they needed.
Discovering Coal
In 1853, four prospectors (people looking for valuable minerals) came to Shingletown. They discovered that the land held many veins of coal. These four men—Richard Sharpe, Asa Lansford Foster, Francis Weiss, and John Leisenring—soon formed a company.
They got permission to use 1,500 acres (610 ha) of land for 20 years to build and run a colliery, which is a coal mine and all its buildings. In 1854, their company started working on the Council Ridge Colliery.
Building a New Village
By the fall of 1854, the company had built a saw mill. This mill provided the lumber needed for the colliery buildings, like the coal breaker and stables. They also started building a village to house the mine workers.
The small forest homes of Shingletown were quickly replaced. Two rows of red wooden houses with black trim appeared. This new village was first named Fillmore, likely after President Millard Fillmore. However, in 1857, the town was renamed Eckley. This was to honor Eckley B. Coxe, the 17-year-old son of Judge Charles Coxe, who had helped the company. Later, Eckley B. Coxe, an engineer, became involved in the town's mining operations.
New People, New Lives
The first people to live in Eckley were mostly immigrants from England and Wales. They had experience working in mines in Great Britain. There were also some Germans who came to work as engineers at the colliery.
Later, in the late 1850s and early 1860s, many Irish farmers arrived. They had come to America after the terrible Great Famine in their home country. The Irish often started with the lowest-skilled and lowest-paying jobs because they were new to mining. Over time, they learned mining skills and moved into better positions.
By the 1880s and 1890s, new groups of immigrants arrived from Eastern and Southern Europe. These included people from Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Italy. They took on the entry-level jobs, just as the Irish had done before them. Many of these immigrants hoped to save money and return to farming in Europe. However, once they became part of the company-owned system, it was very hard to escape the poverty and challenges they faced.
Eckley as a Museum
Today, Eckley Miners' Village is a museum where you can explore what life was like in a 19th-century coal town. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission runs the site, offering both indoor and outdoor exhibits.
You can visit several historic buildings, including:
- The Immaculate Conception Church (built in 1861).
- Three "slate pickers houses" (from 1854).
- Larger homes for laborers (from 1854).
- St. James Episcopal Church (built in 1859).
- Houses where mine bosses lived (from 1860).
- The doctor's office (from 1874).
- The Sharpe House (from 1861).
The Molly Maguires Film
In 1969, a movie called The Molly Maguires was filmed in Eckley. This film helped save the town from being torn down. The large wooden "coal breaker" seen in the movie was built as a prop for the film. It still stands today, even though it's very old. The company store was also built for the movie and is still there.
After the movie was made, Eckley was turned into a mining museum. It is now managed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
How the Town Was Organized
The layout of Eckley Miners' Village showed the different jobs and pay of the workers. If you walked from east to west down Main Street, the houses became larger. The company that owned the mine planned the village this way.
The mine owners lived at the western end of town. The original company store, the mule barn, a hotel, and the doctor's office were also located in this area. Mine foremen and their families rented single homes just east of the main downtown area. Experienced miners, called first-class miners, lived in the 2+1⁄2-story double houses in the middle of the village. These homes were bigger than the 1+1⁄2-story double houses rented to their assistants or laborers.
See Also
- Coal Region
- Anthracite coal
- Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
- The Molly Maguires (film)
