Guide to the CONSOL Energy, Inc. Mine Maps and Records, 1857-2010 AIS.1991.16

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
CONSOL Energy, Inc. Mine Maps and Records
Creator
CONSOL Energy Inc
Collection Number
AIS.1991.16
Extent
795.34 Linear Feet (305 boxes, 369 tubes, 41 map case drawers, 68 map shelves)
Date
1857-2010
Abstract
The CONSOL Energy, Inc. Mine Maps and Records contains coal mine maps, related documents and topographical information, as well as surface maps and detailed information on mine accidents. Additionally, there are technical drawings, outside notes on multiple mines, traverse and survey books, information on companies and railroads with which CONSOL conducted business, and a variety of non-print materials including photographs, negatives and aperture cards. Digital reproductions of selected material are available online.
Language
English .
Author
Debora A. Rougeux, Jennifer Roth, Brigette C. Kamsler, Abigail Miller and Mennie Eldridge.
Sponsor
Funding to process this collection was made available in part by CONSOL Energy, Inc.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System
Archives & Special Collections
Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist
URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections

Access Restrictions

Series XV (Hardback Maps) records may need to be humidified prior to handling. Please contact Archives & Special Collections at least three business days in advance to ensure items can be safely unrolled and handled.

Series XXIII boxes 303 and 304 are an extension of the case file and restricted to use by Archives & Special Collections faculty and staff.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into 22 series:

Series I. Harmar Mine Maps, 1918-1980

Series II. Oakmont Mine Maps, 1919-1966

Series III. Renton Mine Maps, 1926-1982

Series IV. Robena Mine Maps, 1948-1990

Series V. Sewickley Mine Maps, 1890s-1920s

Series VI. D, E, and F Sheets, 1899-1930

Series VII. R Sheets, 1940-1956

Series VIII. H Sheets

Series IX. K Sheets

Series X. Numbered Sheets, 1861-1955

Series XI. General Mine Maps, 1876-1989

Series XII. Company Sheets, 1876-1989

Series XIII. Property Maps, 1872-1982

Series XIV. Geographic Maps, 1867-1969

Series XV. Hardback Maps, 1861-1984

Series XVI. Survey Books, 1880s-1990s

Series XVII. Traverse Logs, 1880s-1999s

Series XVIII. Records, 1857-2008

Series XIX. Publications, 1915-2010

Series XX. Quecreek Mine Accident Investigation, 1900-2004

Series XXI. Photographic and Media Materials, 1930s-1970s

Series XXII. Union Coal and Coke Company Maps, 1899-1968

The collection is organized into 23 series:

  1. Harmar Mine Maps, 1918-1980
  2. Oakmont Mine Maps, 1919-1966
  3. Renton Mine Maps, 1926-1982
  4. Robena Mine Maps, 1948-1990
  5. Sewickley Mine Maps, 1890s-1920s
  6. D, E, and F Sheets, 1899-1930
  7. R Sheets, 1940-1956
  8. H Sheets
  9. K Sheets
  10. Numbered Sheets, 1861-1955
  11. General Mine Maps, 1876-1989
  12. Company Sheets, 1876-1989
  13. Property Maps, 1872-1982
  14. Geographic Maps, 1867-1969
  15. Hardback Maps, 1861-1984
  16. Survey Books, 1880s-1990s
  17. Traverse Logs, 1880s-1999s
  18. Records, 1857-2008
  19. Publications, 1915-2010
  20. Quecreek Mine Accident Investigation, 1900-2004
  21. Photographic and Media Materials, 1930s-1970s
  22. Union Coal and Coke Company Maps, 1899-1968
  23. Processing Notes, 1991-2006

History

CONSOL Energy Inc. was first introduced and incorporated by an act of the Maryland legislature on March 1860 as Consolidation Coal Company, but was not fully formed until April 19, 1864. Early in CONSOL's history, transportation of coal proved problematic. The coal was originally transferred by wagon, then by flat-bottom riverboats, and later by railroad. The company collaborated with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad when a large amount of stock was acquired by the railroad. Two years later, the offices moved from New York to Baltimore.

The company faced internal trouble in the late 1800s due to the company-employed miners going on strike. The strike continued for weeks, with order finally restored by the Maryland Militia. The early 1900s also saw change in the company, when it expanded outside of Maryland into Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and began to ship coal internationally to Japan.

In 1906, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad sold its shares to a Baltimore syndicate. This was the first attempt by a railroad to relinquish control of the commodities it transported because of investigation by the Interstate Commerce Commission, which examined the relationships between coal-carrying railroads and the companies having mines on their lines. CONSOL continued to prosper in the early 1900s when it expanded into Kentucky and continued to ship coal all over the world during World War I. The company was able to move its offices back to New York in 1921, and by 1925, the company had become the largest commercial producer of bituminous coal in the United States.

The mergers and reorganizations continued when the company restructured its departments in 1927 to increase efficiency. During the early 1930s and the Depression era, the company again had to reorganize and went into receivership after serious financial trouble befell them, but due to their efforts the company was able to emerge from those years on solid footing.

The year 1934 was the company's seventieth anniversary. They owned 300,000 acres of land containing reserves of 1,800,000,000 tons of coal and operated 22 mines in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. The years following World War II saw more mergers and the purchasing of other companies. This is also when CONSOL began to develop new breakthroughs in the coal industry.

In 1945, the company merged with Pittsburgh Coal Company and was renamed the Pittsburgh Consolidation Coal Company. One improvement in 1947 was the creation of "Disco," which became a registered trademark of CONSOL. "Disco" was a smokeless solid fuel, and the coal gasification project became a major endeavor of the company. In 1948, the company developed and built a pilot plant for refining tar from a carbonization process.

In 1951, sufficient data became available to prove to CONSOL that it was economical to transport coal by pipeline. In 1956, CONSOL bought the Pocahontas Fuel Company Incorporated, which had reserves and production facilities of low-volatile coal. These fuels were ideal for coking, which was an important ingredient in the manufacture of steel, and a new venture for the coal company. Two years later, the company shortened its name to Consolidation Coal Company.

A major breakthrough for the company occurred in coal pipelining in 1961 with the creation of coal slurry. Coal slurry, a mixture of coal and water, could be pumped for hundreds of miles through a pipeline, distributed by barge, and stored indefinitely in tanks or ponds. This development was hailed as being one of the most important discoveries in fuel transportation and consumption in the past forty years. In 1963, the company contracted with the Office of Coal Research to develop, construct and operate a coal-to-gasoline pilot plant.

The company celebrated 100 years of operation in 1964. Almost 100 billion tons of coal had been mined and CONSOL was still one of the leading producers of coal in the world, with international holdings as well as successful mines located in various states.

In 1966, just two years after the company marked its centennial, Consolidation Coal was acquired by the Continental Oil Company (Conoco). This was part of a general trend whereby U.S. oil companies extended their reach by acquiring coal reserves and large coal producers. In turn, Conoco was acquired by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company in 1981. This purchase was motivated by DuPont's desire to obtain better control of chemical feedstocks in an era of high oil prices. Consolidation Coal was not a major factor in the Conoco acquisition and did not really fit into DuPont's strategy, especially after coal and oil prices declined. As a result, it was quickly sold off when DuPont was restructured a decade later.

In 1991, a new holding company, CONSOL Energy Inc., was incorporated as a joint venture of DuPont Energy Company and the German energy conglomerate Rheinisch-Westfalisches Elektrizitatswerk A.G., through its wholly owned subsidiaries Rheinbraun A.G. and Rheinbraun U.S.A. GmbH. Consolidation Coal Company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of CONSOL Energy Inc. DuPont eventually sold most of its half interest, so that by 1998, Rheinbraun affiliates owned 94% of CONSOL Energy stock, while DuPont Energy retained only 6%. CONSOL Energy purchased the entire stock of the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company on September 22, 1998. CONSOL Energy stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CNX" in 1999, with an initial public offering of more than 20 million shares.

Copyright

The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.

Preferred Citation

CONSOL Energy, Inc. Mine Maps and Records, 1857-2010, AIS.1991.16, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Scope and Content Notes

This collection contains maps, information sheets, technical drawings and other records relating primarily to the southwestern Pennsylvania mining activities of CONSOL Energy, Inc. Additionally, there are property maps, plans of lots and drawings of other surface features, plans of structures related to mines owned and operated by CONSOL Energy and its partnering companies. There are also atlases, maps, technical drawings, information sheets, reports, publications, etc. produced in conjunction with or to be used with the mine maps, and non-print materials including photographs, negatives, slides and aperture cards.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Debora A. Rougeux, Jennifer Roth, Kate Weed, Brigette C. Kamsler, Abigail Miller and Mennie Eldridge from 2005-2011. Materials on West Virginia and Ohio were removed from this collection and added to CONSOL Energy Inc. West Virginia and Eastern Ohio Mine Maps and Records Collection, AIS.2004.22 in March 2012. Information on new materials received related to Union Coal and Coke Company mines in eastern Washington County, Pa., was added in March 2013. Additional processing of linen maps, hardback maps, and processing notes was completed by Amy Brunner in 2019.

Previous Citation

CONSOL Energy, Inc. Mine Maps and Records, 1857-2010, AIS.1991.16, Archives Service Center, University of Pittsburgh

Consolidation Coal Co. Coal Mine Maps Collection, AIS 91:16.

Separated Material

Box 214 was deaccessioned and transferred to the Beall Archives at Frostburg State University. Please contact that institution directly to view those records

The following records have been separated to create the CONSOL Energy Inc. West Virginia and Eastern Ohio Mine Maps and Records Collection, 1880-1994 (AIS.2004.22):

  1. Box 1 Folders 9-18
  2. Box 2
  3. Box 3
  4. Box 32 Folders 16-19
  5. Box 33
  6. Box 34
  7. Box 35
  8. Box 36
  9. Box 37 Folders 1-4
  10. Box 93 Folder 13
  11. Box 94 Folders 8 and 11
  12. Box 103 Folders 9-10
  13. Box 137 Folder 3
  14. Box 138
  15. Box 139
  16. Box 194 Folders 3-6
  17. Box 195 Folder 1
  18. Box 210 Folders 1-19, 21-28
  19. Box 212 Folder 13
  20. Box 230 Folders 46-49
  21. Box 231 Folders 1 and 17
  22. Box 232

Accruals

Additional material received in 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Further accruals are expected.

Acquisition Information

Gift of CONSOL Energy Inc., beginning in 1991.

Existence and Location of Copies

Digital reproductions of a portion of the photographs in the collection are available electronically at http://historicpittsburgh.org/collection/consol-energy-inc-mine-maps-records. Digital images of surface properties in relation to coal mines from the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company are available in Series XVIII. Records. The I-Tracings (#5000-9999) from this same series were digitized and released online in January 2013 as were the annual reports published by the Pittsburgh Coal Company (1940-1945). CONSOL News and CONSOL Energy News were digitized and released online in December 2013. As part of a multi-year grant project partnering with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Office of Surface Mining, the hardback maps were digitized and the images are available on the PA Mine Map Atlas here: http://www.paminemaps.psu.edu. Metadata pertaining to each image is available on a DEP website called the Pennsylvania Historic Underground Mine Map Inventory System (PHUMMIS) here: http://www.phummis.pa.gov/phummis/.

Related Material

CONSOL Energy Inc. West Virginia and Eastern Ohio Mine Maps and records Collection, 1880-1994, AIS.2004.22, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Consolidation Coal Company Records, 1854-1971, AIS.2011.03, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Consolidation Coal Company
    • CONSOL Energy Inc
    • Pittsburgh Coal Company

    Geographic Names

    • Greene County (Pa.) -- Maps
    • Fayette County (Pa.) -- Maps
    • Beaver County (Pa.) -- Maps
    • Allegheny County (Pa.) -- Maps
    • Pennsylvania, Southwestern -- Maps
    • Somerset County (Pa.) -- Maps
    • Washington County (Pa.) -- Maps
    • Westmoreland County (Pa.) -- Maps

    Genres

    • Land use maps
    • Floor plans
    • Cadastral maps
    • Blueprints (Reprographic copies)
    • Aperture cards
    • Ledgers (Account books)
    • Logs (records)
    • Mine maps
    • Negatives (Photographic)
    • Photographs
    • Slides (Photographs)
    • Technical drawings

    Other Subjects

    • Land use -- Pennsylvania, Southwestern -- Maps
    • Environment
    • Coal mines and mining -- Pennsylvania, Southwestern -- Maps
    • Business and Industry
    • Real property -- Pennsylvania, Southwestern -- Maps

Container List