Short Mountain Colliery

From 1831 to the 1930s, the Short Mountain Colliery at Bear Gap in Wiconisco Township, Pennsylvania remained as one of the longest continually operating mining operations in Pennsylvania’s anthracite region.

Several men out for a Sunday hike in 1826 discovered a vein of anthracite coal at the surface near Bear Gap, then a remote part of Lykens Township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

Bear Gap, a narrow gorge carved out of Big Lick Mountain by Bear Creek, rapidly descends toward the larger Wiconisco Creek, flowing through Williams Valley from west to east toward the Susquehanna River.

The mining operations at Bear Gap during the Civil War Wiconisco Township Pennsylvania 1862 — *Bear Gap in the 1860s*

Their discovery launched what became known as the Lykens Valley Coal Region. Over the next several years, locals mined the surface coal for personal use, while early industrialists in Harrisburg and Philadelphia began planning larger mining operations.

By 1831, the Wiconisco Coal Company commenced operations, and soon after, the Lykens Valley Railroad was completed between 1833 and 1834. This crude railroad used gravity and horse-drawn wagons to transport coal from Bear Gap to the Susquehanna River at Millersburg, about 16 miles away.

Canal basin at Millersburg Pennsylvania Wiconisco Canal — *The Wiconisco Canal at Millersburg, Pennsylvania where anthracite coal from the Short Mountain Colliery was shipped*

The initial drift mines followed anthracite veins east through Big Lick Mountain and west through Short Mountain. Located above the water table, these early mines consisted of crude pits slightly angled upward, allowing water to drain naturally.

Early mining in the 1830s like what you what have seen at Bear Gap in Wiconisco Township Pennsylvania 1830s — *An illustration of a mining operation in the 1830s*

Mining technology rapidly advanced in subsequent decades. In the late 1840s, wood-fired locomotives began running on a refurbished Lykens Valley Railroad. By the mid-1850s, slope mining began at Bear Gap, using steam-powered pumps to extract water and lift coal from below the water table.

Short Mountain double slope at Bear Gap Wiconisco Township Pennsylvania site of the 1877 Lykens Mine Fire — *The Short Mountain Double Slope*

During this era, two primary companies operated at Bear Gap: the Lykens Valley Coal Company on the east side and the Short Mountain Coal Company on the west. Throughout the 1850s and into the Reconstruction era following the Civil War, these mines expanded significantly in both workforce and sophistication. High coal prices during the Civil War further accelerated regional economic growth.

By the early 1870s, subsidiaries of the Pennsylvania Railroad took control of operations at Bear Gap, including nearby Williamstown Colliery. Under the Pennsylvania Railroad, Short Mountain Colliery expanded significantly through the early 20th century. The Pennsylvania Railroad subsidiaries maintained control of the Short Mountain Colliery until 1913.

Lykens and Wiconisco Pennsylvania at the turn of the 20th century — *A view of Lykens and Wiconisco.*

Disaster struck in January 1877 when a devastating fire swept through the underground workings at Short Mountain Colliery, nearly closing the mines permanently. The blaze burned for six weeks, causing approximately $1 million in damage. Repairs shut down the mine for 14 months, leaving hundreds unemployed amid the harshest economic depression of the late 19th century.

When operations resumed, the mine quickly returned to productivity. By 1900, mineworkers in the towns of Lykens and Wiconisco became strong advocates for unionization, becoming the first workforce in Williams Valley to join the United Mine Workers of America. They participated prominently in the Coal Strike of 1902, a landmark labor dispute mediated by President Theodore Roosevelt.

Miners at the Short Mountain Colliery in 1915 Wiconisco Township Pennsylvania Coal Region — *Miners at the Short Mountain Colliery*

Short Mountain Colliery enjoyed its most successful period from 1900 to 1918, fueling the booming American industrial economy and the Allied war effort during World War I. Anthracite production peaked across Pennsylvania’s Coal Region in 1918.

Coal miners at Wiconisco Township in the Short Mountain Colliery Marlin Umberger — *Miners at the Short Mountain Colliery (Marlin Umberger)*

Following the war, challenges arose. The mid-1910s saw the opening of a costly 2,000-foot vertical shaft to access deeper coal veins. The colliery electrified during this time, requiring the construction of an onsite power plant. Yet, this modernization coincided with a broader economic shift toward oil and petroleum products, steadily reducing demand for anthracite.

Short Mountain Colliery in the 1920s Bear Gap Wiconisco Township Pennsylvania Coal Region History — *The Short Mountain Colliery in the 1920s (Marlin Umberger)*

By the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, the already costly mining operations at Short Mountain Colliery became unsustainable. The Susquehanna Collieries Company, owners since the divestment of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1910s, announced the permanent closure of Short Mountain Colliery on March 10, 1933. Attempts by local workers to restart the mine independently failed.

Headlines for a protest at the Short Mountain Colliery Great Depression Wiconisco Pennsylvania Coal Region — *Headlines documenting the protest movement at Wiconisco in October 1933*

With the colliery closed, the towns of Wiconisco and Lykens faced severe economic hardship. Residents turned to dangerous bootleg mining to survive. The Short Mountain Colliery never reopened, and its structures deteriorated into ruins over subsequent decades.

Today, only scattered remnants of the vast Short Mountain mining operations remain, alongside acid mine drainage pools seeping from abandoned workings and polluting the Wiconisco Creek – poignant reminders of this once-thriving Coal Region hub.