Henry Wilson Storey's History of Cambria County, V.I, p.576

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History of Cambria County, V.1

576 HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.

to ten dollars per acre. About 1890 the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company, one of the largest producers of bituminous coal in the country, came into the South Fork and Somerset districts and opened several mines in the vicinity of Windber and Scalp Level. The South Fork R. R. was opened for passenger traffic in August, 1897, and operated as a part of the Pittsburg division.
     In June, 1907, about 355 loaded cars came from the South Fork Branch on week days, two-thirds of them being 50-ton steel cars. There are also about 100 cars shipped from South Fork and vicinity, about 800 from the Cambria & Clearfield division, and about 300 from Portage, Lilly and Gallitzin. All this coal is taken to the eastern markets, excepting 20 cars, which go west over the Pennsylvania R. R. This amount does not include the shipments on the N. Y. C. R. R.
     The county of Cambria is among the largest producers of bituminous coal in the United States. Its output for 1902 was 10,561,835 tons; 1903, 10,942,496; 1904, 10,829,087, and in 1905, 12,600,891 tons. In Pennsylvania it is only exceeded by the counties of Fayette, Westmoreland and Allegheny, and has 130 mines, the largest number in active operation. The next highest is Clearfield with 127, and Westmoreland with 118. Of those in Cambria 113 are on the lines of the Pennsylvania railroad; 13 on the New York Central; three on the B. & 0. R. R., and one on the P. J. E. and E. R. R.
     In 1905 the average number of days the mines were in active operation was 211, and upon this basis there were 59,719 tons taken out every working day, which is equal to 14.56 acres mined from a three-foot seam. The railroads required 1,492 forty-ton cars to haul it to market. The average prices for all kinds of bituminous coal at the mines in Pennsylvania, per short ton, were: In 1901, .99 cents; 1902, $1.08; 1903, $1.18; and 1904, 96 cents. There are various grades of coal, some of which bring higher prices; for instance, the average selling price for the best Miller seam coal in 1906 was $1.40 at the mine, while the ordinary coal was $1.16. On this basis the net value of the output at the mine, in Cambria for the year 1905, was $16,160,642, which is about one-twenty-ninth value of the entire production in the United States.
     The wages for picked mine coal for 1906 were sixty-six cents per gross ton, and machine mined coal was five-ninths of that rate with an addition of a half cent per ton. The average

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576	HISTORY OF CAMBRIA COUNTY.
to ten dollars per acre. About 1890 the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company, one of the largest producers of bituminous coal in the country, came into the South Fork and Somerset districts and opened several mines in the vicinity of Windber and Scalp Level. The South Fork R. R. was opened for passenger traffic in August, 1897, and operated as a part of the Pittsburg division. In June, 1907, about 355 loaded cars came from the South Fork Branch on week days, two-thirds of them being 50-ton steel cars. There are also about 100 cars shipped from South Fork and vicinity, about 800 from the Cambria & Clearfield division, and about 300 from Portage, Lilly and Gallitzin. All this coal is taken to the eastern markets, excepting 20 cars, which go west over the Pennsylvania R. R. This amount does not include the shipments on the N. Y. C. R. R. The county of Cambria is among the largest producers of bituminous coal in the United States. Its output for 1902 was 10,561,835 tons; 1903, 10,942,496; 1904, 10,829,087, and in 1905, 12,600,891 tons. In Pennsylvania it is only exceeded by the counties of Fayette, Westmoreland and Allegheny, and has 130 mines, the largest number in active operation. The next highest is Clearfield with 127, and Westmoreland with 118. Of those in Cambria 113 are on the lines of the Pennsylvania railroad; 13 on the New York Central; three on the B. & 0. R. R., and one on the P. J. E. and E. R. R. In 1905 the average number of days the mines were in active operation was 211, and upon this basis there were 59,719 tons taken out every working day, which is equal to 14.56 acres mined from a three-foot seam. The railroads required 1,492 forty-ton cars to haul it to market. The average prices for all kinds of bituminous coal at the mines in Pennsylvania, per short ton, were: In 1901, .99 cents; 1902, $1.08; 1903, $1.18; and 1904, 96 cents. There are various grades of coal, some of which bring higher prices; for instance, the average selling price for the best Miller seam coal in 1906 was $1.40 at the mine, while the ordinary coal was $1.16. On this basis the net value of the output at the mine, in Cambria for the year 1905, was $16,160,642, which is about one-twenty-ninth value of the entire production in the United States. The wages for picked mine coal for 1906 were sixty-six cents per gross ton, and machine mined coal was five-ninths of that rate with an addition of a half cent per ton. The average