7 days to die coal deposits12/30/2023 ![]() Important Dates in West Virginia’s Mining Historyġ742 First discovery of coal by John Peter Salley in the area now comprising West Virginia.ġ770 George Washington noted “a cole hill on fire” near West Columbia in current Mason County.ġ800 Pittsburgh Coal Seam was discovered in northern Kanawha County.ġ810 First commercial coal mine opened near Wheeling by Conrad Cotts for blacksmithing and domestic use.ġ817 A coal mine opened in the upper Kanawha Valley to supply coal to the salt industry.ġ830 Development of Clay industry in Hancock County.ġ834 First commercial coal mining company in Kanawha Valley incorporated.ġ843 Baltimore and Ohio railroad reached Piedmont and coal was shipped to Baltimore.ġ847 Coal shipped by river from Mason County.ġ853 The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was opened to Wheeling.ġ855 Mines opened on Big Coal River near Peytona and coal shipped by way of Kanawha River.ġ863 West Virginia becomes a state (June 20).ġ873 Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad completed lines to Huntington.ġ875 A bill was introduced in the WV Legislature to provide for better ventilation in coal mines.ġ881 The Western Maryland Railway reached the upper Potomac.ġ883 First state mine inspector, Oscar A. Currently this agency has 109 employees (80 Inspectors) working out of five regional offices with headquarters in Charleston. In 1991 a further reorganization placed the state mine health and safety functions in a new agency called the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training. The Department of Mines existed until 1985 when it was merged with other state regulatory agencies to create the West Virginia Department of Energy, later know as the West Virginia Division of Energy. The law also increased the number of inspectors to seven. In July of 1905 the West Virginia Department of Mines was created. Between the years 18 coal production increased by nearly 125% and the need for a Department of Mines was warranted. Also, that year the mining laws were printed in book form for the first time. The legislature passed in 1897 an act expanding the number of inspection districts to four and created the position of Chief Mine Inspector. Not until 1887 would any major revision of the mining laws occur despite pleas for changes from the state Mine Inspector. This first act called for the appointment a mine inspector to make certain the mines in the state were properly drained and ventilated. ![]() With the growth of the industry the first mine safety laws were passed by the West Virginia Legislature on February 22, 1883. The major rail lines were completed that year and production totaled nearly 3 million tons. The year 1883 is an important year in West Virginia’s coal history. The commercial coal industry began to grow with the arrival of the railroads in the coal fields. Only along navigable rivers was the coal exported to distant markets. Most of the coal produced was for local business and domestic consumption. The other coal fields in the state began to develop in the following two decades. The growth of the salt industry led to the opening of mines to supply furnace fuel during the 1820’s and 1830’s. Coal is reported to have been mined as early as 1810 when a mine was operated near Wheeling, in the northern panhandle. Records indicate the early settlers in the western sections of Virginia were quite aware of the rich black resources. Underlying the topography of the state are sixty-two individual seams of coal considered economically minable. These coal deposits occur in all but two of the mountain states’ fifty-five counties. West Virginia is fortunate to have been blessed with enormous reserves of energy rich bituminous coal.
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