THE TOWNS:
WINDBER FIELD
Large scale coal mining in the Windber Field began in the 1890s. The dominant company was the
Berwind White Coal Company. Coal seams mined included the Upper and Lower Freeport, Lower Kittanning, and Brookville. These low-volatile "smokeless"
coals fueled the great steamships crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the early 20th Century. The original mines of the
Windber Field were closed in the 1950s and 1960s, but some coal mining still occurs in the area.
According to the PA D.E.P.'s 2001 report, there were 9 deep mines and 46 strip mines in Somerset County in 2001. (Some of these would
be in the Meyersdale Field in southern Somerset County.) More recently (July 2002), the rescue of 9 trapped coal miners at the flooded Quecreek Mine north of Somerset
captured national attention. They had breached the old flooded Saxman mine (due to incomplete mine mapping).
THE TOWNS: