The Suffolk Colliery
was located north of St. Nicholas Village on Wastehouse Run Creek. The original
opening was a drift driven west on the south dip mammoth vein by Frank Carter
in 1860, known later as no. 1 drift, and was mined by him until 1861.
In 1861, the Coal
Creek Coal Company was formed by Pliny Fisk, Frank Carter and John Phillips
who continued mining the drift until 1864. The first known shipment of 13,220
tons was made in 1863.
In 1864, they sold
the colliery to the Suffolk Coal Company who began developing the colliery driving
a tunnel north 230 ft. to the holmes and primrose veins and numbered them 2
& 3 mines. They also drove two drifts east on the south dip mammoth vein
and numbered them 4 & 5 mines.
In 1866 the west
gangway on the no.1 mine had been driven 3600 ft., the no.2 mine 1900 ft., the
no.3 mine 1300 ft.,the no.4 mine 700 ft. and no.5 mine 2600 ft. eastward. The
shipment from the colliery in 1867 was 70,281 tons.
In 1867, they sunk
the slope 330 ft. on the south dip primrose vein and gangways were driven east
and west. In 1874 it was extended 270 ft. to the basin. $180,000 was expended
to improve this colliery. The Suffolk Coal Co. continued to operate the colliery
to January 1, 1884 when the Philadelphia & Reading Coal & Iron Co. took
possession and they sunk the holmes south dip slope.
In 1893, the company
sunk a tender slope 300 ft. on the same vein.
In 1911, they drove
a haulage tunnel 471 ft. north connecting the no.2 slope level with the maple
hill no.2 plane for transporting coal between the two collieries.
In 1914, an electric
haulage system was installed in the no.5 drift and the primrose slope was sunk
621 ft. to the second level in order to trans- port a part of Ellangowan Primrose
Coal to Suffolk Colliery.
In 1915, electric haulage was placed in service on the holmes slope gangways. The Suffolk Colliery was one of the large producers with a maximum in 1903 of 364,416 tons. The mining ceased at Suffolk Colliery on February 6, 1941. The suffolk boiler house was removed in 1940. The engine house, office buildings, compressor house, lamphouse and two fans were all removed in 1945. The total shipments from the colliery to 1922, when tonnage was included with Maple Hill, was 10,182,883 tons.