The Oak Hill Colliery was located at Mt. Laffee and was an extensive mine covering a large area in the primrose and orchard veins. In the operation of the colliery several drifts, four slopes and one shaft were employed in the work of mining.
The colliery was opened by a drift driven west on the primrose vein by Daddow and Brown in 1830 who mined the drift to 1836 when Daddow retired.
In 1840, the Oak Hill Coal Company was organized by D.P. Brown, J.P. Wetherill and others who made extensive improvements and opening more drifts on the primrose and orchard veins.
In 1844, D.P. Brown and Company sunk a shaft 165 ft. deep from which the gangway was driven 2000 ft. west in 1851.
In 1854, they sunk the first slope 270 ft. on the south dip primrose vein 2000 ft. west of the shaft but it was abandoned in 1860 as exhausted.
In 1856, the second slope was sunk 234 ft. to the first level that was later used as a pump slope and sunk to the second level.
In 1863, a fourth slope was sunk in line with the former two slopes 329 ft. on the north dip primrose through the old abandoned pollock north dip workings. The other slope was sunk on the south dip orchard vein about a half mile from the Brown's shaft.
The D.P. Brown & Company operated the colliery to 1864 when the colliery was purchased by the Norwegian Coal Company who operated it to 1870 when an injunction was served on the company for not complying to the mine laws of the state and all the slope workings were abandoned but mining continued in one of the drifts to 1872 when the colliery was abandoned.
The colliery was surrounded
by several collieries whose workings became connected and in later years were
worked as a part of the Oakhill Colliery. These collieries were the Harper,
Whooler, Goyne and Stutz tunnel mines. The shipments from the Oak Hill Colliery
was 824,900 tons of coal.