A photograph believed to have been taken about 1875 inside a mine in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The photo shows a door boy at a mine entrance door.
Many young boys went to work in the mines, some as young as 8 or 9 years old. Most worked outside the mine picking slate at the breakers or as mule drivers. However, a few were given inside jobs as door boys. These boys typically worked ten hours a day and six days a week for pay of one to three dollars a week. The job was to open the door so mine cars could pass, then close the door.
Doors were installed at mine entrances to control ventilation in the mine. Steam operated fans were installed to force surface air down one shaft and up another.
In 1902, Pennsylvania passed laws prohibiting young boys from working in the mines and operators were required to ask for papers proving the age of applicants. This led to parents paying for falsified documents so that the young boys would appear to be of the proper age to work.
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Photo and information from Pottsville Republican and Herald, “Glimpses Into Yesteryear,” 28 September 1978.
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