A photograph taken on Jul y 30, 1933, of three men who were returning to work after nine months of idleness at Reliance Colliery. Left to right: Francis Downey, George Berwick and Clarence Evart.
From a series of articles that appeared in the Pottsville Republican and Herald in 1998:
Big Mine Run Colliery was located north of Ashland on the west side of the Big Mine Run Creek. The colliery was originally opened by two drifts driven east and west on the South Dip Mammoth Vein by Gideon Bast, Pearson & Company in 1853.
The first shipment of 819 tons of coal was made in 1854.
In 1858, the Eastside Drift Workings were sold to Emanuel Bast, a son of Gideon Bast, who operated it as a separate colliery.
Bast, Pearson & Company continues mining the west drift and sank a slope 525 feet on the same vein as the drift. They drove the water-level drift 4,800 feet to the anticlinal separating the Big Mine Run and Locust Run Colliery workings.
In 1868, Gideon Bast retired from the firm and the colliery was sold to Jeremiah Taylor, Lindsey & Company, which continued operating the colliery. It consisted of the slope and four water-level drifts opened at different levels on the Buck Mountain Vein. The company worked the drift levels extensively.
In 1873, the No. 2 Drift had been driven 3,600 feet, the No. 3 Drift 3,150 feet and the No. 4 Drift 2,400 feet. Around 1875, the fourth-level plane gangway was driven into the Hazeldale Colliery workings.
Taylor, Lindsey & Company continued operating the colliery until 1890, when Jeremiah Taylor died. It was operated by his estae for a short time and, in 1891, all mining was suspended.
In 1894, Reilly, Lilley & Lentz leased the colliery and operated it to 1896, when the Lehigh Valley Coal Company came into possession and operated the colliery with the Centralia Colliery.
The total shipments from Big Mine Run Colliery to 1899 were 3,319,989 tons. After that year the shipments were included with those of Centralia Colliery.
_______________________________________________
Article by Frank Blase, Historian, Reading Anthracite Company Historical Library, Pottsville Republican & Herald, February 28, 1998. Obtained from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.