Information on mines in North Scranton 1800-1900: Marvine and North Main Ave. (Dickson City: home, school)

[drjeanette]

Pennsylvania: Does anyone have any information on these mines in this particular area only please. Or can you share links where I could find information. Workers, accidents, production, conditions, etc. My relatives have all gone and they worked in these areas so personal interest. Thank you.

[MatildaLoo]

You'll probably get some info from some of the coal buffs on here. You can also contact the Lackawanna Historical Society and the Anthracite Heritage Museum.

Welcome to The Lackawanna Historical Society

Anthracite Museum Home Page


There are tons of books out there on the subject as well. Some are probably available through the resources above. You also can Google using key terms to find some information. Here's a website that I was able to find by Googling "Scranton mining"

Historical Coal Mine Disasters in the Anthracite Region

[Wells5]

Complete information is available at Pennsylvania Northern Coal Field. Good luck.

[thecoalman]

I had a collection of photos my Uncle owns online at one point in time. Here's the photos and the information I had on the Marvine:

Name: Marvine
Location: Scranton
Description: The Marvine colliery located
in Scranton. It was just off what is currently the Dickson City exit on I-81. It was located where the Lackawanna Co. Recycling Center is now. The conveyer that brought coal from the mine is to the right. A Small steel bridge that brought mine cars across the Lackawanna river is about all that remains, it is just out of the picture to the right. The bridge can be seen from I-81 and Main St. Currently the culm bank that was produced by this breaker is being removed and at one time was on fire. This photo was taken from where Johnson Technical Institute is now.

Name: Marvine
Location: Scranton
Description: The Marvine colliery opposite from the photo above.

I have larger ones, send me a PM if you want it.


You want to get a hold of Chris from http://www.undergroundminers.com/ , he lives up that way and would probably be able to answer your questions as good as anyone.

[johnqpublic]

I grew up across the street from main ave one.. the breaker was still there as were several of the buildings it was a kids paradise of exploring.. the shaft under the breaker was covered with heavy timbers , but there were spaces where you could throw rocks down... you could hear it hitting the sides, but never heard it hit bottom... also lots of surface coal with tons of fossils in them... there are housing projects there now, I always wondered if they filled the shaft or just capped it.. Im waiting for one of the apt. buildings to disappear. A little further up, where the expressway entrance ramp is there is a horizontal tunnel entrance it went at least a 1/4 mile or more under tripps park we never really found the end of it, there were sections where the roof collapsed and we werent brave enough to crawl thru the small voids to get to the other side.... which in hindsight was a very good thing!!

[johnqpublic]

P.S. have you ever been to the Anthracite Museum at McDade park?? its a gem that many locals overlook... also there are mayy pics of the local mines and breakers hanging throughout coopers seafood restaurant.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by johnqpublic

A little further up, where the expressway entrance ramp is there is a horizontal tunnel entrance it went at least a 1/4 mile or more under tripps park we never really found the end of it, there were sections where the roof collapsed and we werent brave enough to crawl thru the small voids to get to the other side.... which in hindsight was a very good thing!!

Going into any mine even just a little bit is not a safe thing. Oxygen is absorbed by the mine wall and CO2 is created, CO2 is twice the specific gravity of air so it lays low in pockets. If you get into one of these pockets or the natural flow of air shifts driving one of these pockets in your direction and the concentration of CO2 is high enough you'll be overcome before you even know what is happening.

When you go down into the Lackawanna Mine tour they have a ventilation shaft, also note the guides have air quality monitors. If you pay particular attention when you get to the bottom of the mine car ride they give a little lecture. One of those guides is going to head off down the tunnel while the lecture is going on, what they are doing is checking the air quality before taking the visitors into that section.

[johnqpublic]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

Going into any mine even just a little bit is not a safe thing. Oxygen is absorbed by the mine wall and CO2 is created, CO2 is twice the specific gravity of air so it lays low in pockets. If you get into one of these pockets or the natural flow of air shifts driving one of these pockets in your direction and the concentration of CO2 is high enough you'll be overcome before you even know what is happening.

When you go down into the Lackawanna Mine tour they have a ventilation shaft, also note the guides have air quality monitors. If you pay particular attention when you get to the bottom of the mine car ride they give a little lecture. One of those guides is going to head off down the tunnel while the lecture is going on, what they are doing is checking the air quality before taking the visitors into that section.

I know that now... We were kids.. 8 -10 years old at the time.. and very lucky.. had there been oxygen deprivation or a collapse they never would have found us.

[DTamkus]

To the Coalman:

I recently found your site and thank Coalman for the information on the Marvine Mine, where many of my relatives worked earlier in the 20th century. Now I wonder if anyone can give me the location of Tripp Shaft No. 1 of the Diamond Mine, where my Grandfather Charles Tamkus and Great Uncle Peter Tamkus were killed int he "Diamond Mine Disaster" of December 9, 1914. I also wonder if anything is left of that location. I note that "JohnQPublic" says he explored what seems to be the Tripp Slope Tunnel, and I wonder if that is accurate and if so was it part of the Diamond Complex.

Thank you for any and all information

[johnqpublic]

The Tripp Slope was at the end of Dorothy St. , near the new grade school, the entrance I was in as a kid was along side the entrance ramp to the expressway off Main Ave leading into town...... info can be found here Diamond No.15 Slope