Description: This photograph shows the devastation of strip mining (also known as surface mining). The vegetation and top soil are removed to be able to mine the minerals such as coal from below the surface. It is the method used instead of underground mining when the minerals are close to the surface. Strip mining was popular during the World War II era because it was a fast and inexpensive way to gather precious resources for the war effort. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B06F04_024_1
Subjects: Strip mining--Environmental aspects--Ohio; Coal mines and mining--Ohio--History
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Reverse reads: "These three homes on Plummer Hill are being undermined by the 54-year-old New Straitsville Mine Fire. The barrier built by the WPA wokers runs under the road in the foreground. The house at the left is occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Willard Andrews and their son, Clyde. The middle house was recently vacated by Mrs. Elizabeth Green when poisonous gases from the fire threatened her life. The house at the right is occupied by Mr. and Mrs. David Rush and their son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Rush. This scene is about one mile southwest of New Straitsville." The mine fires are said to have started November 13, 1884, when striking miners pushed burning cars into a mine, during a strike over wages between the New Straitsville Mining Company's management and mine workers. A small group of union members decided to sabotage the mines. Cars filled with oil-soaked timber were set on fire and were pushed into a mine owned by the New Straitsville Mining Company. The fire quickly spread to the coal seam underground. Reportedly, the coal seam was fourteen feet across and extended an undetermined distance into the Earth. It took several days for the fire to be discovered. By that point, it was too late to stop the fire's spread. As a result of the fire, the mine closed. The New Straitsville mine fire has raged ever since 1884. In 1936, the WPA began work to stop the spread of the fire by building barriers across burning veins of coal. In 1938, nearly 350 men were employed on the project, which then was estimated to cost less than $1, 000, 000. Under the direction of James R. Cavanaugh, a veteran mine fire fighter, tunnels were driven through veins in the path of the fire, and were filled with a clay-water mixture or similar non-burning material. The mine fire effected coal deposits in Hocking and Perry Counties in southeastern Ohio. It was estimated that by 1938 the coal destroyed, more than two hundred square miles, was worth fifty million dollars. In 2003, smoke began to emerge from the soil of the Wayne National Forest, 119 years after the fire began. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F12_029_1
Subjects: New Straitsville (Ohio)--Photographs; Mine fires--Ohio; Coal mines and mining--Ohio; United States. Works Progress Administration
Places: New Straitsville (Ohio); Perry County (Ohio)
 

Description: Dated ca. 1930-1943, this photograph shows two men shoveling coal into minecarts at the Blue Bell Mine near Strasburg, Ohio, in Tuscarawas County. A note on the reverse of the photograph reads "Close up surface coal mining. Blue Bell mine near Strasburg. S. H. Green. West High Ave., New Phila, N.K." The first European settlers recognized the value in Ohio's natural coal resources and in 1837 the first Geological Survey of Ohio studied the mineral resources of the state, especially coal. Ohio's canal system allowed for easy coal transportation for mining, and by the mid 1800s railroads and more advanced mining technologies advanced coal mining output in Ohio. Eventually, coal became the primary source of energy for electricity and fueled the many steel mills in the upper Ohio River Valley. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F02_030_001
Subjects: Coal mines and mining--Ohio; Coal miners; Charcoal industry--Ohio; Blue Bell Mining Company; Photography--Ohio
Places: Strasburg (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph depicts a mold conveyor produced by the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company of Columbus, Ohio, in use at the Ferro Machine and Foundry Company in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1935. The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, also known as the Jeffrey Mining Corporate Center, was established in 1876 as the Lechner Mining Machine Company in Columbus, Ohio, by Joseph Jeffrey and Francis Lechner. The company was the number one manufacturer of coal mining machinery worldwide until the mid-twentieth century. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01562
Subjects: Machinery industry--Ohio; Coal mines and mining; Inventions; Manufacturing industries--Ohio; Inventors; Ohio Economy--Economy--Labor
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio); Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "The former Midvale Goshen Coal Co. Kaderly- Campbell" The Goshen Oil and Coal company was founded in 1866 during a time when searching for oil was very popular. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B14F01_050_001
Subjects: Railroad stations--Ohio--Pictorial works.; Coal mines and mining--Ohio
Places: Wainwright (Ohio); Tuscarawas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Handwritten on reverse: "Strip coal mining. Apex, O. Largest shovel in World in background. Photo by Miller and Son, 436 Market Street, Steubenville, Ohio." This photograph is most likely of The Apex Coal Company. A similar photograph is shown in The Ohio Guide and the words "Industrial Coal ???" appear on the vehicle that is in the background of this photograph. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B08F06_054_001
Subjects: Coal mines and mining--Ohio
Places: Apex (Ohio); Harrison County (Ohio)
 

Description: The photograph shows an unknown abandoned coal mine entrance in Ohio. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F12_027_1
Subjects: Abandoned buildings--Pictorial works; Coal mines and mining--Ohio; Coal miners; Geography and Natural Resources; Industries--Ohio; Works Progress Administration of Ohio; Ohio Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Coal loading docks and railroad tracks at Ashtabula Harbor, Ashtabula, Ashtabula County, Ohio ca. 1940-1949. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00310
Subjects: Coal mines and mining; Ohio Economy--Economy--Labor
Places: Ashtabula (Ohio); Ashtabula County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows two laborers using a portable bag stacker built by the Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, Columbus, Ohio. They are working at the Etna Portland Cement Company in Cleveland, Ohio. The photograph was taken July 13, 1928. The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company, also known as the Jeffrey Mining Corporate Center, was established in 1876 as the Lechner Mining Machine Company in Columbus, Ohio by Joseph Jeffrey and Francis Lechner. The company was the number one manufacturer of coal mining machinery worldwide until the mid-twentieth century. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL00925
Subjects: African Americans; Ohio Economy--Economy--Business; Coal mines and mining; Inventions; Manufacturing industries--Ohio
Places: Cleveland (Ohio); Cuyahoga County (Ohio)
 

Description: An unidentified coal miner digs in a coal mine in Ohio. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B07F12_026_1
Subjects: Geography and Natural Resources; Business and Labor; Coal mines and mining--Ohio; Coal; Coal miners; Works Progress Administration of Ohio (U.S.)
Places: (Ohio)
 

Description: Print illustrating the Pomeroy coal mines published in the 1847 edition of "Historical Collections of Ohio" by Henry Howe. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03948
Subjects: Coal mines and mining; Ohio Economy--Economy--Business
Places: Pomeroy (Ohio); Meigs County (Ohio)
 

Description: Strip mining operation in Apex, Ohio, ca. 1930-1939. Visible in the background is a large shovel for moving earth. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01040
Subjects: Ohio Economy--Economy--Business; Coal mines and mining; Mining machinery
Places: Apex (Ohio); Harrison County (Ohio)