The No. 9 Mine & Museum

Useful Information

Location:	()
Open:	Mine tours: MAY to OCT Fri, Sat, Sun. [2005]
Fee:	Museum: Adults $3. Museum plus Mine Tour: Adults $7. [2005]
Classification:	Coal Mine Anthrazite mine. Mammoth Vein.
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:	T=11-12 °C.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:	Kevin Patrick (2004): Pennsylvania Caves & other rocky roadside wonders, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Pa, USA, 248 pp, illus.
Address:	The No. 9 Mine & Museum, 9 Dock Street, Lansford, PA, Tel: +1-570-645-7074. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1819	coal quarry "The Old Mine" in the Summit Hill area started.
1822	Coal Company became incorporated under the name of Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co..
1845	planning of the No.9 Mine.
1849	quarry in Summit Hill abandoned because of flooding waters.
1851	attempt to drive the mine failed.
1853	attempt to drive the mine failed.
1855-1856	intensive work on #9, the anthracite vein was reached.
1972	mine abandoned.

Description

The No. 9 Mine & Museum is a modern show mine with underground tour. It gives insights into the life of Pennsylvanian Anthracite Miners during the 19th and early 20th century.

The No. 9 Mine was an attempt to handle large amounts of water in the mine. A former opencast mine, called "The Old Mine" filled with water. The idea was now to build an underground mine, which followed the most important anthracite layer, the so called Mammoth Vein. To get rid of the water, a drainage tunnel on a level with the bottom of the Panther Creek Valley, was built, the new No. 9 tunnel. It should be driven into Mammoth Vein on the south side of the valley. But there was a lot of work to do and it took decades until the anthracite finally was reached.

Once opened the mine soon became one of the most productive mines in the area and it produced coal for more than a century.