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The region along Deep River in central North Carolina once boasted a small but significant coal mining industry that from the early 1800s to the end of the 20th century provided fuel for manufacturing and domestic use. Confronted by natural obstacles and other challenges--including a devastating explosion in 1925 that killed 53 men and boys--entrepreneurs made numerous attempts (some successful, some not) to harness the power of coal in a state still defining itself in a modernizing nation. Iron forges and hearths required ample supplies of coal to meet local demand, and the Deep River deposits provided them when no others existed.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
¿1.¿Geological Aspects of the Deep River Basin
¿2.¿Early History of the Deep River Coalfield
¿3.¿Geology as a Science Stimulates Geological Surveys
¿4.¿The Antebellum Period
¿5.¿The Deep River Coalfield at the Time of the Civil War
¿6.¿Post-Civil War Considerations
¿7.¿The 1880s Through 1900
¿8.¿The 1895 Mine Explosion at Cumnock
¿9.¿The 1900 Explosion at Cumnock
10.¿Coal Production in North Carolina, 1900-1925
11.¿Tragedy Strikes Coal Glen: May 27, 1925
12.¿The Nature and Causes of Mine Gases
13.¿The State of Coal Mining After 1925
14.¿New Challenges for Coal Mining
Conclusion
Appendix A: The Dan River Coalfield
Appendix B: Jackson's Survey of the Deep River Coalfield
Appendix C: Daddow-Bannon Map of the Deep River Coalfield
Appendix D: Transcript of Inquest Concerning the December 19, 1895, Disaster at Cumnock
Appendix E: Individuals Killed at Farmville Mine, 1925
Appendix F: Total Tonnage Mined Yearly at Deep River
Appendix G: Company Records
Appendix H: Active Coal Mining Companies, 1867-1896
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
James H. Chapman has for twenty years researched and written about his family's involvement in coal mining in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and in Wales. He lives in North Carolina.
