The Preston No.3 Colliery
was located just west of the Girardville Borough line along the Philadelphia
& Reading Railroad main line and south of Mahanoy Creek. The original opening
was a drift driven west on the north dip mammoth vein by Buckley, Moody and
Company in 1857 and in 1862 they had driven 1300 ft. of gangway, when they were
succeeded by John Jones and Company who operated until 1864.
On March 16, 1864 the Preston
Coal and Improvement Co. was chartered. Their officers and directors were President:
Henry D. Moore, Vice President: George J. Forest, Secretary and Treasurer: H.P.
Rutter, the directors were Henry D. Moore, William G. Moorhead, George J. Forest,
William Hunter, Jr. and J. Hicks Conrad. The Preston Coal and Improvement Co.
leased the colliery to Buckley, Moody and Co. who drove a water level tunnel
170 ft. south to the north dip holmes vein and 450 ft. of gangway west.
In 1871, William Kendrick
and Company leased the colliery and sunk a slope 100 ft. to the water level
gangway extending it 275 ft. to the first level and mined to 1872.
In 1872, the Philadelphia
& Reading Coal & Iron Co. came in possession of the colliery through
the purchase of the lands of the Preston Coal and Improvement Co. and they sunk
the tender slope to the same level as the hoisting slope. They spent $200,000
in improvements and developments, driving a tunnel 300 ft. south from the first
level to the south dip mammoth vein in 1873 and in 1878 extended it across the
basin 570 ft. to the north dip mammoth vein that was mined eastward 3000 ft.
to its boundary, and westward where it connected with the Preston No. 4 Colliery
workings.
The Preston No. 4 Colliery
(Hunters Tunnel) was consolidated with Preston No.3 in 1876.
In 1889, the hoisting and
tender slopes were extended 270 ft. to the second level, a total length of 645
ft.
In 1891, from the second
level, 350 ft. west of the slope, a tunnel was driven 1200 ft. south through
the basin and saddle to the north dip mammoth vein and intersecting the buck
mountain vein.
In 1897, the mammoth vein
gangways reached their boundaries and in 1902 the colliery was abandoned as
it was exhausted.
The total shipment of coal from Preston No. 3 and Preston No. 4 Collieries was 1,367,046 tons.