
Figure 20.—‘SwiTcH-BACK RAIL-ROAD”’ at Mauch Chunk, ca. 1850. Currier lithograph. (M. S. Henry, History of the 
Lehigh Valley, 1860.) 
area of 42,000 acres, the value of coal lands under 
control of the incorporated companies was estimated 
at $8.4 million. If 25 percent of the acreage of land 
authorized under the charter provisions of the various 
companies was purchased, the investment required 
was $2.1 million. In most cases, the newly chartered 
companies would have been unable to purchase their 
entire authorization of land at this average price, con- 
struct the transportation and mining facilities required, 
and still be within the capital limitations under their 
respective charters. These limitations placed many 
acres of coal lands under leasing arrangements rather 
than outright purchases. 
No fixed amount of capital was needed for the 
day-to-day operations of the individual mining prop- 
erties, but it was necessary for the company to have 
some working capital to pay for the essential services 
that were incurred in the period between the mining 
of the coal and the receipt of monies from the sale of 
their product. Daily mining costs were low initially 
because of coal’s close proximity to the surface, but as 
mining depths increased the amount of capital re- 
quired to perform these operations also increased. 
Development costs, including capital needed for 
day-to-day operations, was estimated to be 10 percent 
of the authorized capital or approximately $1.25 mil- 
lion. Several companies were authorized to increase 
PAPER 72: ANTHRACITE IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY 
their capitalization by subsequent acts of legislature, 
while others were required to consummate business 
loans or consolidate their operations with others to 
keep their mining operations in an active status. 
The total of these three major investments—land, 
mining operations, and transportation facilities— 
amounted to almost $10.5 million. This total invest- 
ment is considered a conservative estimate since in- 
complete details of commercial loans negotiated by 
some companies precluded their inclusion in the de- 
termination of this estimate. By adding the cost of the 
Delaware Division of the Pennsylvania Canal, as it 
properly should be, the total investment costs were 
increased to $12.2 million. These millions of dollars 
of investments during the first 25 years of mining op- 
erations can truly be considered an outstanding ac- 
complishment by the State’s business community for 
the future economic development of the anthracite 
industry in the Lehigh region. 
Summary 
The quantity of anthracite transported on the Le- 
high Navigation during the period 1820 to 1845, was 
slightly more than 3.2 million tons. The Lehigh Coal 
and Navigation Company exercised exclusive control 
on the movement of coal produced in this region, as 
117 
