The Boston Run Colliery was located east of the Village of Gilberton on the south side of the Mahanoy Creek.
The
Colliery was opened by a water level tunnel driven south 205 ft. to the North
Dip Mammoth and Buck Mountain veins by Focht and Althouse in 1863. The first
shipment of 10,764 tons of coal was made in 1864. The west mammoth gangway was
driven 2565 ft. in 1866 when they sunk the slope 390 ft. to the first level
from which they tunneled to the Seven Foot and Buck Mountain veins and were
extensively worked to 1873.
In 1873, the colliery was purchased by the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. (P&R C&I Co.) and they continued to operate the colliery.
In 1878 and 1880, the company made many improvements, sinking the pump slope 700 ft. and extending the hoisting slope 320 ft. to the second level, a total length of 710 ft.
In 1897, the pump slope was extended to the third level, a length of 940 ft. and a new breaker was erected with the latest and most improved machinery.
In 1900, the gunboat slope was extended 300 ft. to the third level and tunnels were driven to all veins.
During 1908, the underground
slope on the little buck mountain vein was sunk 300 ft. from the third to the
fourth level and in 1911, the pump slope was again extended 282 ft. from the
third to the fourth level.
During 1911 and 1912, the
little buck mountain gunboat slope was 1304 ft. to the fourth level.
In 1913, the old hoisting slope timbers were replaced with steel in concrete bases for a distance of 24 ft. and a fireproof hospital was built in the Bottom Split Mammoth vein on the fourth level, 150 ft. west of the pump slope.
During 1913, the P&R C&I Co. shipped 188,688 tons of coal. The best shipment from this colliery was 331,114 tons of coal in 1899.
In 1921, the breaker was abandoned and the coal was transported to the Tunnel Ridge Breaker for preparation until May 14, 1928 when the colliery mining ceased. Pumping was discontinued Mar.16, 1939.
The total shipments from the Boston Run Colliery were 5,714,616 tons of coal as of 1928.