Pennsylvania's rich coal mining history dates back centuries to the late 1700s and boomed between 1870 and 1930. After the boom, the industry began a steady decline that continues to the present day. In fact, between September 2014 and April 2016, the industry as a whole in the U.S. lost an estimated 191,000 jobs. Here are 15 rare coal mining photos from Pennsylvania that provide a glimpse into the coal mining industry's vibrant past.
1. Children work in the coal mines, while being supervised by an adult with a stick, in Wilkes-Barre in 1906.
2. A woman and a child hard at work pick coal at Nanty Glo in Cambria. Individuals earned ten cents, in 1937, for each 100 pound sack they collected.
3. Coal is washed at the St. Nicholas Breaker in Gilberton in this 1938 photo by Sheldon Dick.
4. A shaft tower at Maple Hill Mine in Schuylkill is seen in this 1938 photo by Sheldon Dick.
5. Photographer Sheldon Dick captures an inspector carefully checking the coal as it passes on a loading belt.
6. Cars are in line to head down to the mine shafts at Maple Hill Mine in Schuylkill County in this 1938 photo by Sheldon Dick.
7. Miners with the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Company enter a cage that will take them to the mine's bottom. Photo taken by John Collier in 1942.
8. A 1942 photo by John Collier shows a coal miner preparing for a blast at Pittsburgh Coal Company's Montour Number Four Mine.
9. Children of coal miners employed by the Buckeye Coal Company in Greene County, Pennsylvania, attended this school in the mid-1940s.
10. This 1946 photo shows the breaker plant at The St. Clair Coal Company in Schuylkill County.
11. Coal miners and their families resided in this neighborhood housing project run by the Buckeye Coal Company, who owned the Nemacolin Mine, in 1946.
12. During some of their down time, coal miners with the Pittsburgh Coal Mining Company in Washington County hang out at the company's recreation area.
13. Coal miners with the Westland Mine congregate outside of the foreman's office at the Pittsburgh Coal Company in this 1946 photo.
14. Employees shop at Henry Clay Frick Coal Company's store in Washington County in this 1946 photo.
15. A shot of the The St. Clair Coal Company in St. Clair, Pennsylvania in 1946.
These 15 rare coal mining photos from Pennsylvania give us a look into what life was like for miners and their families in the early part of the 20th century. Click here to view a rare video from Pennsylvania in the 1940s.
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