THE TOWNS:
IRWIN GAS FIELD
Mining coal in the Irwin Gas Field meant mining a section of the Pittsburgh Seam
that wasn't as ideally suited for making coke as it was in the Connellsville and Klondike Fields. However, there was some beehive coke
production in the Irwin Gas Field, though not like Connellsville. Transportation was dominated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. The famous
Westmoreland Coal Company, the nation's oldest coal company, began here in the 1850s. The field encompasses Salem, Penn, North Huntingdon,
Sewickley, South Huntingdon, and part of Hempfield Townships. This coalfield is basically exhausted.
THE TOWNS:
