Marianna, PA is one of the most outstanding historical coal mining sites in Pennsylvania, and probably the entire United States. The structures and equipment that still exist at Marianna date from the first decade of the 20th Century until the late 1980s. It is one of the most intact coal company built towns that I have ever seen, and the yellow brick buildings in it are exclusive to Marianna. The coal mine and coke ovens, along with the community, were built by the Pittsburgh Buffalo Company in 1907. Marianna was such a showplace of industrial technology that even President Teddy Roosevelt came to tour it. The housing for the workers and their families constitued what was known as a "model" patch town, which entailed an effort to improve the standard of living of coal miners. There were originally 2 mines at Marianna-Rachel and Agnes, and European immigrants swarmed to Marianna to work in them. However, the bright beginnings of the Marianna mine quickly dimmed when an explosion in the mines caused the death of 154 miners, and injured others. A good collection of news articles about the 10th worst mining disaster in US History can be found here.
The Marianna patch and tipple during the "old days" (Courtesy Coal and Coke Heritage Center, Penn State Fayette, used with permission)
Marianna became a borough in 1910. The town still contains a number of independent business and homes, in addition to the patch area.
A vintage view of the powerhouse and coke ovens at Marianna with the patch in the background. (Courtesy Coal and Coke Heritage Center, Penn State Fayette, used with permission)
By the mid-1920s, Bethleham Mining, the coal mining subsidiary of Bethelham Steel, had acquired the mine and renamed it Mine No. 58. During the 1970s coal at Marianna was being strip mined, in addition to the deep mining operation there. They continued to extract coal at Marianna until the main underground conveyor caught fire in March 1988. The fire was extinguished, but Bethleham mining never reopened the mine.
Now the Marianna mine complex sits idle, in the middle of the borough, suspended in time due to it's sudden closure. Most of the residential and commercial structures there survive, and a "Marianna Historic District" was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, being defined as "roughly bounded by Ten Mile Creek, Beeson Ave. Hill, 6th, and 7th Streets." But the future of the coal mining site in the middle of the town is uncertain. Now that once-mighty Bethelham Steel, which filed bankruptcy in 2001, has been absorbed into ISG Steel, all of the historic mining complex may be reclaimed. In a May 2003 agreement the Pennsylvania D.E.P. worked out an agreement "for the completion of land reclamation responsibilities at the Marianna #58 Mine and CRDA in West Bethlehem Township, Washington County. At that site, three mineshafts were filled but not permanently sealed after mining ceased. A slurry pond also needs to be re-vegetated, and nearly 30 buildings and several erosion and sedimentation ponds still remain on the surface." Will anyone stand up to preserve this remarkable and priceless relic of the American Industrial Revolution before it's too late?
The tipple and hoist house at Marianna.
The beehive coke ovens at Marianna are among the best preserved in Western Pennsylvania. Their facades are made of the same yellow brick that is so ubiquitous to Marianna.
I believe that this tipple and shaft frame are part of the original 1907 mining complex.
The "skip" that brought coal to the surface is still hanging in the shaft elevator.
Looking at the tipple throught the hoist house window. This was a more modern hoist house with electronic controls
that replaced the earlier one.
The shaft hoist
All of the sheeting has been removed from the Marianna preparation plant, but much of the equipement is still in place.
Conveyors with wooden bottoms
A second head frame and shaft that is part of the Marianna mine.
The Marianna mine office. The water treatment plant is behind this.
In this photo the large silo, as well as a shop building, are behind the second head frame and mine office.
These "model" patch houses are some of the most unusual coal company built houses in Pennsylvania
Much of the Marianna patch is located on the side of a steep hill behind the mine and coke ovens
A closer look at the miners' housing
These larger houses at the back of the mining town probably were part of a "bosses row." There are no outhouses at Marianna. Everyone must have had an indoor toilet, something
most residents of Pennsylvania's coal mining towns had to wait until the 1950s for.
The superintendent's house
Even the St. Nicholas Russian Church of Orthodox Old Believers was built from this yellow brick. This
church still serves about 75 to 100 members of the sect. The coal company also built
a Roman Catholic church for the Italian and Polish immigrants.
A small portion of the large slate dump at Marianna.
USGS map of Marianna showing patch, tipple, and related structures. I was surprised that the borough boundaries didn't include
East Marianna, where most of the commercial establishments are located.
In this aerial view of Marianna one can see the green grass in the lower right where the coal preparation complex was reclaimed. But note the linear
structure following the base of the hill behind this grassy area. Those coke ovens were not demolished.
Mac sent in these pictures and writes, " Looking at your page on Marianna reminded me that I had taken some photos in '97. I first found Marianna some 15 years earlier with my father while canoeing down 10 mile creek. At that time I think the mine was still active and we had to sneak through the gate with the canoes!"
The photos Mac took in 1997:
