Incredible photographs document the Maple Hill mine near Shenandoah in 1938

Posted on by Jake Wynn

As we’ve previously documented on the blog, photographer Sheldon Dick came to the Coal Region in 1938 to photograph the people and places that made up the cultural landscape in this struggling industrial area.

Dick centered his efforts for the Farm Security Administration project around the Schuylkill County community of Shenandoah.

Read our story about Sheldon Dick’s 1938 photographs of Filipek’s Bar

At some point during his visit to Shenandoah, the photographer brought his camera to the Maple Hill Colliery on a scarred hillside just few miles east of town. In a series of images, displayed below, the viewer can experience what this colliery looked like during the Great Depression and in the years directly before the outbreak of the Second World War.

The photographs come from the Library of Congress collection and are labeled with Sheldon Dick’s original captions.

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“Second shaft tower at Maple Hill mine seen from first tower”
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“A wheel, over which the car cable runs, at the top of a shaft tower at the Maple Hill mine”
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“Second shaft tower at Maple Hill mine, as seen from first tower”
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“A view of buildings, coal cars and tracks at Maple Hill mine, seen from shaft tower”
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“The power house as seen from Maple Hill shaft tower”
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“Cars waiting to go down the shafts at the Maple Hill mine”
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“Shaft of the Maple Hill mine as seen from the top of the shaft tower”
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“A car (elevator) at the bottom of a shaft seven hundred feet below the surface at Maple Hill mine”
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“A compressed air engine approaching with a train of cars in the Maple Hill mine. The pipes beside the track carry eight hundred pounds and there are valves for refueling every quarter mile. Compressed air is piped down from the surface.”
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“Interior of a mule stable in the Maple Hill mine, seven hundred feet below ground, showing a miner and some mules. Once they go down the mules don’t come up until they die. Some have been down for the last twenty-five years”
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“Timbers in tunnel 29 of the Maple Hill mine, at the end where they are leaving the column and the rock has already fallen”

The Maple Hill Colliery was located adjacent to the famous St. Nicholas Breaker between Shenandoah and Mahanoy City. Some of the homes visible in this image are still situated atop Maple Hill overlooking the site of the Maple Hill mine.

These are far from the only places in the Coal Region captured by Dick’s camera in 1938. We’ll be sharing more of these photographs in future posts.

Featured Image: A shaft at the Maple Hill Colliery near Shenandoah (Library of Congress)

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7 thoughts on “Incredible photographs document the Maple Hill mine near Shenandoah in 1938”

  2. My Dad worked at Maple Hill and several others, sometime working two in one day just to keep his family feed and healthy.

    Reply

  3. My Dad worked at Maple Hill as a miner back in the day. He would take me with him when he went to pick up his pay & dirty clothes ! The elevator shaft was not my favorite part of the trip ! ED P

    Reply
  4. Pingback: A 1938 photograph shows desolate Coal Region landscape during the Great Depression | Wynning History

  5. I was going to mention that these photo’s are incredible, and then I noticed that is the name of the post. but some of these photos, especially if I open them in a new window almost give you the feeling it’s a video as where there is smoke or clouds in the sky my mind makes me see movement if I stare at them.
    So incredible is a good statement to make for these for sure.

    Reply
  6. Pingback: 1938 Photos Reveal Mine Subsidence Damage in Schuylkill County
  7. Pingback: Maple Hill Colliery in Winter | Shenandoah, PA | 1938

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