Aerial view of the Vestaburg coal company town on one side of the Monongahela River and the remains of the Labelle Preparation Plant on the other side of the river, with the conveyor crossing
the river between the two. (Image courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth)
Vesta Coal Company's preparation plant in Luzerne Township, Fayette County, with the Vestaburg patch
in the background, across the Monongahela River in Washington County. Part of the plant has been demolished. Much of what remains is actually the blending bins. The
trans-river conveyor that brought the coal from Washington County is at the far left.
In 1950 J&L Steel built the Labelle Prep Plant on the Fayette County side of the Monongahela River to process coal from their Vesta Mines on the Washington County side of the river. After the Vesta No. 4 and 5 mine were mined out in the 1970s, the Labelle Prep Plant continued in operation under different
managements, such as A.T. Massey. In the mid-1990s the Pennylvania D.E.P. acquired 50% of the stock of Labelle Processing. The plant has of late been used by Castradale Coal Co. and it's future looks uncertain.
Rusty barges sitting in the river in front of the plant. The Fredericktown ferry provided access to the plant for employees living on the Washington side of the river.
The headhouse of the refuse conveyor at the top of the hill. The slate dump is on the Fayette County side of the river.
There are several types of housing in the Vestaburg patch, including these duplexes.
This style of house is the most numerous in the coal mining village.
Another kind of patch house at Vestaburg is this four room variety
Also, theses one story company-built cottages are the smallest type of residential structure in the patch.
A resident of Vestaburg identified this building as the company store.
