Vanished Businesses -circa 1910

Reflecting on the temporary closure of business and industry during the pandemic, I happened upon a postcard depicting an important industry in central Pennsylvania that is now entirely closed.

Anthracite coal, the hard, slow-burning fuel of many Pennsylvania industries was mined in the Hazelton area since the Civil War.

Coal is taken from the ground in uneven clumps and boulders, so “coal-breakers” were developed to break the coal into smaller, more consistent lumps that could be shipped (and shoveled into furnaces) more easily.

The Drifton Coal-Breaker, located in Luzerne County, south of Freeland and northeast of Hazleton, was first constructed in 1888-1889.

The plant was enlarged and refined by the Lehigh Coal Company in 1917.

Even without a postmark, one would know that this postcard photo is of the “old” Coal-Breaker circa 1910 due to the cast iron support structures which are described in early publications about this enterprise.

All of the coal- mining and coal- breaking industry is now gone – anthracite coal is no longer a significant source of home heating which it was through the 1950’s.

Our air is cleaner, and our streams are clearer, but the loss of the large mining operations is still felt keenly in this area.

The postcard was posted to Drifton on March 18 of 1908.

It was mailed from the nearby mining town of Jeddo.

Addressed to Mrs. Mathias Keinberger, the postcard bears the receiving postmark of Drifton.