Pittsburg-Weir Coalfield facts for kids
The Pittsburg-Weir Coalfield is an important area in Cherokee and Crawford counties, located in the southeast corner of Kansas. It's known for its rich supply of coal. This area is also sometimes called the Weir-Pittsburg Coalfield or the Cherokee Coalfield.
History of Coal Mining in Kansas
Coal mining in this region started small. People first dug for coal near the surface or from tunnels that went into hillsides. But things changed a lot in 1874. That's when the first deep shaft mine was built near Scammon. A shaft mine is like a big elevator shaft that goes straight down into the ground to reach the coal.
After this first shaft mine, many more mines opened. At one point, there were as many as 290 big mines and many smaller ones in the two counties! The busiest time for mining was between 1890 and 1910. Most of the small towns where miners lived, called coal camps, were taken apart by the 1930s or 1940s.
Over time, new ways of mining developed. By 1931, strip mining became more common than underground mining. Strip mining involves removing the top layer of earth to get to the coal, rather than digging deep tunnels. This, along with coal coming from other parts of the country, made underground mining less important in the Pittsburg-Weir Coalfield.
What Happened at Santa Fe Mining Company?
A very sad event happened on November 9, 1888, at a mine owned by the Santa Fe Mining Company. This mine was near Frontenac, Kansas. An explosion occurred in one of the mine shafts, and 150 miners lost their lives. This was a major mining disaster for the community.
The Story of Pittsburg & Midway Coal Company
One of the oldest coal companies that kept running for a long time was the Pittsburg & Midway Coal Company. It started in Pittsburg, Kansas in 1885. Even after the Kansas mines closed and the company moved to Denver, Colorado, it kept its name.
However, in September 2007, the company's name changed. Chevron, which owned Pittsburg & Midway, combined it with another one of its mining divisions. This created a new company called Chevron Mining, and the Pittsburg name was no longer used for a while.
But the story didn't end there! In 2008, the name Pittsburg & Midway Coal Company was bought back from Chevron. The company was restarted in Midway, Kansas. Today, this refounded P&M owns mines in other states like Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, and Ohio.
