Centralia Colliery

Located in Columbia County in the Borough of Centralia, the colliery was opened by a slope sunk 350 ft. on the South Dip Mammoth vein by J.M. Freck, Blankson and Company in 1862. The first shipment of 401 tons was made during the same year and in 1863 had increased to 19,278 tons and 67,138 tons in 1864. They operated the colliery, mining the first level 1600 ft. east and 3600 ft. west, when about 1868 they extended the slope to the basin a total length of 960 ft. The mining of the lower level was continued, when in November 1870, the breaker was destroyed by fire and in 1872 after shipping 69 tons of coal, the company retired from the business of mining and the colliery was allowed to fill with water. In 1873, Dr. Provost leased the colliery and drove a water level tunnel 760 ft. north to the Buck Mountain from which gangways were driven east and west; at 170 ft. west of the tunnel a slope was sunk 180 ft. to the tunnel level, for the purpose of hoisting the coal from the tunnel gangways to the level of the breaker. In 1876 Dr. Provost pumped the water out of the mammoth slope workings and mining was resumed in the lower level. A gangway 700 ft. west of the bottom of the slope was driven across the basin into the Hazel Dell North Dip workings, thereby connecting the two collieries. In 1879 a new slope was sunk on the South Dip Buck Mountain vein when the breaker was des- troyed, and the lower levels of the colliery were again filled with water.

Dr. Provost sold his interests to Lewis a. Riley and Company. In 1880 Lewis A. Riley and Company took possession of the colliery and extended the Buck Mountain Slope to a depth of 512 ft. and mined the upper level of the Mammoth and Buck Mountain veins. In 1890 L.A. Riley and Company drove a drainage tunnel from the ravine at Big Mine Run Creek into the mine workings of Hazel Dell and Centralia Collieries which will drain off the water from all collieries of the basin. In 1907 a tender slope was sunk on the seven foot vein. The Lehigh Valley Coal Company mined extensively to 1927 when the colliery was suspended, but resumed mining in 1928.

The total shipments from Centralia Colliery were 12,042,568 tons as of 1928.