Introduction 
HE ANTHRACITE DEPOsITS of Northern Pennsyl- 
Abe are found in the counties of: Carbon, Co- 
lumbia, Dauphin, Lackawanna, Lebanon, Luzerne, 
Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, 
and Wayne. The coal-bearing formations cover a sur- 
face area of approximately 484 square miles and are 
divided into four fields: northern (176 square miles) ; 
eastern middle (33 square miles) ; western middle (94 
square miles) ; and southern (181 square miles). 
In anthracite trade circles, the four fields are 
regarded as three producing areas: The Schuylkill (the 
western middle field and the southern field west of 
Tamaqua) ; The Lehigh (the eastern middle field and 
the southern field east of Tamaqua) ; and The Wyo- 
ming (the northern field) . 
The topography of the area in the pioneer days of 
the Commonwealth excluded the use of turnpikes and 
the construction of new roads for the transportation of 
bulky commodities from the hinterland to the highly 
populated east-coast areas. The entire anthracite area 
was drained by three large streams, but none was 
navigable with safety in its natural state. 
The Lehigh River was early recognized as being a 
natural route for the transportation of materials to 
market. The Pennsylvania Legislature passed a Lehigh 
River improvement act in 1771, and other programs 
followed in 1791, 1794, 1798, 1810, 1814, and 1816.7 
Several of the acts included the appointment of com- 
missioners to supervise the river improvements and 
moderate appropriations to help finance the work. In 
every case the money was undoubtedly spent, but the 
construction efforts, if any, did not materially improve 
the navigation of the river. 
Discovery of Coal in the Lehigh Region 
The discovery of coal in the Lehigh area is credited 
to Philip Ginder * who, in 1791, found coal on Mauch 
*ERSKINE Hazarp, “History of the Introduction of An- 
thracite Coal into Philadelphia” (Historical Society of Penn- 
syluania Memoirs, vol. 2, pt. 1; Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, and 
Carey, 1827), p. 157. 
“Tuomas C. James, “A Brief Account of the Discovery of 
Anthracite Coal on the Lehigh” (Historical Society of Pennsyl- 
vania Memoirs, vol. 1, pt. 2; Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, and 
Carey, 1826), p. 318. Dr. James used the family name as 
Ginter, but the monument erected at Summit Hill, Pa., com- 
rating the 150th anniversary (1941) of the discovery 
racite was inscribed “‘Ginder.” 
Chunk (Sharp) Mountain where the town of Summit 
Hill is now located, about nine miles west of the town 
of Mauch Chunk.* Ginder gave some specimens of his 
find to Col. Jacob Weiss at Fort Allen (Weissport). 
The Colonel sent the specimens to Philadelphia for ex- 
amination. Sometime later Colonel Weiss was in- 
formed that the specimens were found to be ‘Stone 
Coal.” 
On February 13, 1792, Colonel Weiss and several 
friends from Philadelphia formed the unincorporated 
Lehigh Coal Mine Company.! This organization ob- 
tained from Colonel Weiss the land upon which the 
discovery was made (Weiss had obtained the land pre- 
viously from Ginder) and, therefore, obtained addi- 
tional warrants. The total land holdings in this area 
subsequently totaled approximately 8,000 acres. 
The organization commenced mining operations and 
produced several tons, having little difficulty in digging 
the coal from the ground. They were then confronted 
with the problem of what to do with the coal. Mining 
operations were suspended for the time being and their 
efforts were concentrated on proving anthracite’s value 
by arousing public interest in their product. The public, 
however, was reluctant to accept this new fuel. An- 
other problem faced the owners; that of transporting 
their mined coal out of the primitive forests to the 
landings along the Lehigh River. Six wooden arks 
were constructed on the river above Mauch Chunk, 
loaded with coal, and made ready for high water 
(freshets) to float them down to Philadelphia, via the 
Lehigh and Delaware Rivers. Each ark held approxi- 
mately ten tons of coal and had a crew of six men. 
After a perilous trip down the rivers in the spring of 
1803, two of the six arks finally reached Philadelphia. 
No ready buyer could be found but, after much effort 
by the owners, the coal was sold to the city for use as a 
fuel for a steam engine at the city’s waterworks. This 
experiment was a failure as the fireman was not suc- 
cessful in getting the coal to burn.® The organization’s 
hope of prosperity was lost. 
In December 1807, the owners granted a lease to 
Rowland and Butland to remove coal from one of the 
veins exposed on the mining property. The partnership 
was disbanded and the lease forfeited during the next 
*Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk became Jim 
Thorpe by referendum in 1954. 
‘ JAMEs, op. cit., p. 319. 
° Tbid. 
FL BULLETIN 252: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 
