Enterprise Colliery

Located about 2 miles west of Locust Gap on Weikel's Run in Northumberland County, Penna.

The colliery was opened by a drift driven west on the north dip bottom split mammoth vein by C. F. Norton and Thomas Baumgardner in 1864. The first shipment of 11,372 tons was made in 1865. They mined the drift until 1865 when it was sold out by the sheriff. The mining was continued by R. A. Ammerman, a mining engineer as agent until 1867. The drift was driven 3100 ft. when the Enterprise Coal Company was organized by Thomas Baumgardner & Company who sunk the slope 420 ft. on the north dip bottom split mammoth vein to the first level and erected a new breaker. These improvements cost $50,000.

In 1870, the gangways from the bottom of the slope were driven 3200 ft. westward to a fault and eastward 3300 ft. to its boundary.

In 1873, a new slope 500 ft. west of the old slope was sunk on the north dip 650 ft. to the basin from which 3 gangways were driven on both north and south dips. A serious squeeze occurred on the slope and adjacent workings which caused a suspension of mining that required the reopening and repairs that were completed in 1874.

In 1878, a cross cut tunnel was driven 824 ft. east of the slope opening the top split mammoth vein from which east and west gangways were driven. the east was driven 411 ft. and the west 480 ft.

A north west gangway was driven 2700 ft. west of the slope around the anticlinal exis to the south dip.

In 1880, the skidmore vein was opened by a tunnel 114 ft. driven from the bottom split mammoth gangway and the buck mountain drift was opened.

On July 15, 1880, the breaker was destroyed by fire and a large double breaker erected in its place.

In 1885, they sunk a third slope on the north dip bottom split mammoth vein and drove a water level tunnel south 360 ft. to the bottom of the same slope with gangways driven east and west 2200 ft.

In 1890, the number 5 slope was sunk 300 ft. on the lykens valley vein and a single hoisting engine was erected. It was abandoned in 1895 after a large expenditure of time and money had been invested in its development.

About 1893, the no.6 underground slope was sunk. In 1895 an electric plant of 50 h.p. was installed for hoisting coal from the skidmore slope.

A new breaker was built to replace the old one destroyed by fire in May 1895. The breaker was placed at the no.3 slope and hoisted the coal directly into the breaker.

On Dec. 4, 1898, part of this breaker was blown down during a severe storm wrecking the boilers and boiler house and damaging the hoisting engines. In rebuilding the breaker, they discarded a long plane from the slope to the head of the breaker and substituted a shaft-way 169 ft. high in which was worked two standard cages. Also, an additional electric motor was installed in the mammoth workings that replaced 10 mules.

In 1904, the shaft was sunk.

In 1908, fire was discovered in the mine and in 1913 the lower levels were flooded with water to 1914 when the water was removed.

The total shipment from the Enterprise Colliery as of 1928 was 7,484,901 tons of coal.

The Enterprise Colliery closed down October 1935.