Mining coal @ $1 per ton---.-------_- $24. 00 
Transportation 9 miles @ $4 per ton__-_ 96. 00 
oadingy.arka eee == 5% eas eee es 5. 00 
ATK (cons truction= == 22 ess see bee 130. 00 
Grewisi watess 2-2 2= 22 aes 28. 27 
Pilotuwatesssae 2. eee en es 47. 50 
otal; 222222 S ee eee ee $330. 77 
This expenditure was required whether or not the 
ark arrived safely in Philadelphia. As a result of this 
one venture, this group, like its predecessors, was com- 
pelled to abandon the operation and forfeit the lease. 
During November 1817, Josiah White and Erskine 
Hazard, being in need of coal for their wire plant, 
turned their attentions to the coal lands located along 
the Lehigh River. Josiah White was one of the com- 
missioners named in the act of incorporation of the 
Schuylkill Navigation Company in 1815. At the elec- 
tion of managers by the stockholders, White was not 
elected due to his ownership of the wire manufacturing 
plant at the Falls of the Schuylkill and his possible 
conflict of interest.'”? White’s unpleasant associations 
with the managers of the Schuylkill Navigation Com- 
pany also contributed to his searching for a new source 
of fuel. 
Mr. White and George F. Hauto visited the mining 
operations on Mauch Chunk (Sharp) Mountain and 
the Lehigh River southward from Mauch Chunk 
during December 1817.1" Josiah White’s report on his 
trip to the region was quite favorable as he was con- 
vinced that coal could be obtained cheaper from this 
area. His investigation also revealed that the lease of 
the coal lands by the third partnership had been for- 
feited and the most recent law which had been passed 
by the legislature to improve the navigation of the 
Lehigh River had not been carried out to completion. 
Messrs. White, Hauto, and Hazard, upon applica- 
tion to the original owners, were granted a 20-year 
lease on the mine holdings. Their lease allowed 3 years 
for preparation of the property and required that they 
deliver at least 40,000 bushels of coal annually to Phila- 
“ CHARLES V. Hacner, Early History of the Falls of the 
Schuylkill (Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen, and Haffelfinger, 
1869), p. 45. 
‘Ricuarp RicHarpson, Memoir of Josiah White (Phila- 
pany, 1873), p. 40. 
a 
delphia: J. B. Lippincott and Cx 
delphia. Annual rent for the property was one ear of 
corn payable on demand.” 
Lehigh Navigation 
After White, Hauto, and Hazard had obtained the 
lease for the coal lands, they turned to the Pennsylvania 
Legislature for an act to authorize them to improve 
the navigation of the Lehigh River. Their plans were 
presented to the legislature and strong opposition was 
encountered: the navigation plan for the Lehigh River 
was considered impractical because of the failure of 
previous plans to accomplish the same purpose. On 
March 20, 1818, the legislature gave this new group, 
as individuals, “the privilege of ruining themselves” 
(Appendix I).%* Major provisions of the act were: 
(1) the division of the Lehigh River into two sections; 
(2) the locks to be at least 18 feet wide and 80 feet 
long; (3) downward navigation to be accomplished at 
least once every 3 days (except during the winter) ; 
and (4) the retention by the legislature of the right to 
purchase the navigation and all improvements at any- 
time after the expiration of 36 years. 
The Lehigh Navigation Company came into exist- 
ence on August 10, 1818, when the money subscribed 
by stockholders had been obtained. Subscriptions 
amounted to $50,000 with 25 percent of the profits 
from the operations reserved for the stockholders. The 
balance was to go to the three original founders who, 
in addition, had the exclusive control of the company. 
Work commenced immediately on the project. 
Another organization, the Lehigh Coal Company, 
was being formed by the owners of the Navigation 
Company to mine the coal, to build a road from the 
mines to the river, and to bring the coal to market by 
the river navigation. On October 21, 1818, this orga- 
completed with a subscription of 
$55,000.° Subscription was similar to the Navigation 
Company with the percentage of profits retained for 
the stockholders being 20 percent instead of 25 percent. 
The mine wagon road was laid out in 1818, and 
completed in 1819. It was a descending road designed 
nization was 
* Lehigh History, op. cit., p. 5. 
See Appendix I; Pennsylvania Legislative Acts, 1818 
(Harrisburg: C. Gleim, 1818), p. 205. 
“Pennsylvania claimed ownership of the Lehigh River on 
July 19, 1965. 
* Lehigh History, op. cit., p. 9. 
04 BULLETIN 252: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 
