North Fork Hollow Mine Run

[NW Mailing List]

Thanks for your response. The first house my wife and I owned, in Needham,
MA, had been built somewhere around 1910. Although the coal storage bin was
long gone from the basement you could still see where it had been, and the
delivery window was still there. 

 

I was unable to find a photo of the interior of a coal company house other
than some WPA photos of miners' families that showed very little beyond the
wall behind the subjects. I suppose that the houses were so common and
uninteresting at the time that no one thought to document the insides. 

 

Rob Doorack

 

From: NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> On Behalf Of NW
Mailing List via NW-Mailing-List
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2025 9:43 AM
To: 'NW Mailing List' <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Cc: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org>
Subject: Re: North Fork Hollow Mine Run

 

It varied by company. The cost varied from $1.00 and $1.50 per ton in the
1940s. Houses generally had 1 ton coal boxes. Houses were heated with coal
and most people has coal fired cooking stoves/ovens, so coal was in use the
year round.

 

Alex Schust

 

 

  _____  

From: NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
<mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> > on behalf of NW Mailing List
<nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org <mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> >
Sent: Thursday, December 4, 2025 9:21 AM
To: 'NW Mailing List' <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
<mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> >
Subject: RE: North Fork Hollow Mine Run 

 

I assume that company owned miners' houses were heated by coal, like most
houses in the US were until the rise of oil heat began in the 1930s. Did
miners have to buy the coal to heat their homes from their employers or did
they get it for free?  

 

Rob Doorack

Plantsville, CT

 

From: NW-Mailing-List <nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org
<mailto:nw-mailing-list-bounces at nwhs.org> > On Behalf Of NW Mailing List via
NW-Mailing-List
Sent: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 10:11 AM
To: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
<mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> >
Cc: NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org
<mailto:nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> >
Subject: Re: North Fork Hollow Mine Run

 

Most company stores had railroad sidings and warehouses. They were fully
stocked dept stores that sold clothing shoes, furniture, animal feed, etc.
Mules were e also delivered to company stables as well as feed. Mining
equipment, mine timbers, building supplies, and sand were also delivered to
company yards, and possible farm animals such as pigs, cows and chickens,
long before they were advertised on WCKY Cincinnati (1929-1994.

 

Attached is a photo of the company store at Filbert on Sand Lick Branch. The
store was served by a small stub end siding across the creek from the store.
On the left side of the 1925 photo note the freight house, a bridge across
the creek with a small railroad leading to the larger store warehouse. It
appears the small railroad track had been paved over in 1925 when the road
was originally paved. The store used a small cart on the rails to transfer
freight from the boxcars.

 

The other photo shows a different store view along with the railroad siding.

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://pairlist6.pair.net/pipermail/nw-mailing-list/attachments/20251204/6b10220b/attachment.htm>