User:Susie Jones

Title: Harrison County History of Coal Museum

The doors of the Harrison County History of Coal Museum were opened in May of 1994. The Coal Museum is located in the lower level of the Puskarich Public Library. The public was welcomed in at its dedication ceremony and open house. The museum is open during the libraries' normal business hours from Monday - Thursday 9:00-8:00, Friday 9:00-6:00, and Saturday 9:00-5:00. Tours can be arranged by appointment. Admission is free of charge.^[1] The Harrison County History of Coal Museum gives special attention to keep the memory alive of what was a way of life then and now - coal.

Museum Information

Inside the coal museum, different displays and photographs of various mining memorabilia are available for viewing. An essential attribute of the Coal Museum is its 99-seat theater where film presentations of the coal industry and its history are shown. Some of the topics featured are:

Mining in General

Coal's geological history, the history of coal mining in the United States, how mines were built, coal in the environment and products with items ranging from insecticides made from creosote coal tar to moth balls, a distillate of coal tar. Coal samples depicting anthracite (hard coal) is also displayed. Many of the displays were donated by area collectors as well as those associated with the mining industry. Elizabeth Reeb, a researcher-curator with the Ohio Historical Society, is responsible for many museum exhibits and photos.^[2]

Underground Mining

The actual mining process with its machines and methods, a general history of the United Mine Workers of America and Safety are included here. Miners' tools, equipment (hats, lunch buckets, safety devices) are acquired for displays. The safety device display covers the gamut from the old-fashioned bird cage - when the death of the bird meant the presence of deadly gases - to today's self-contained rescuer kits with one-hour oxygen supply. The biggest display is a thirties-forty era Watt Car located in the centerpiece of the lobby area. It was donated to the museum by the Cravat Coal Company. It stands in front of a huge photo of the entrance to a deep mine. The museum's walls and ceiling are set in black to give the underground feel of a deep mine.^[3]

Surface Mining

Machines and equipment like the Silver Spade and Giant Earth Mover (GEM), reclamation, and a model of a surface mine operation are key components. Obviously, the huge (GEM) or Mountaineer would never have fit inside the library's tiny space. However, among the displayed pieces is a broken off "tooth" from the gigantic bucket of Consolidation Coal Company's Silver Spade and a section of the equally giant three-inch-thick electrical cable used to switch it on.^[4]

Local Mining

Harrison County was a top coal producing county in Ohio. The general history of mining in this county and Eastern Ohio is covered from Ida Mae Stull, who was nationally recognized as the country's first woman coal miner^[5], to the decline of the industry during the 1980s. Items from local mines are also on display. Other displays include several watch fobs, popular then and now, representing various coal equipment companies. The old "company store" is also featured with examples of merchandise and "scrip", both paper and metal.^[6]

Available Videos

There is a wealth of information on coal mining. Besides the many books offered at the Puskarich Public Library, the library and coal museum also suggest these available videos for more information on the subject of coal mining^[7]:

Coal: the Inside Story

Fighting Coal Mine Fires

Mountaineer Prep Plant Big Muskie

Last Pony Mine - Longwall Mining

Marion Video

The Other Half Speaks - Daron Coal Company/Atlas Power Company - Adventures in Strip-mining

Common Ground Modern Mining

Energy Under Ground - Y & O Coal Company

Salute to the Giant

Out of Darkness

All About Coal (children's version)

History of Bucyrus Erie Strip-Mining Shovels