Founded in 1851, the Short Mountain Coal Company grew rapidly during the Civil War in association with the Pennsylvania Railroad.
A 1919 history of the Short Mountain Coal Company – Wiconisco Township

Founded in 1851, the Short Mountain Coal Company grew rapidly during the Civil War in association with the Pennsylvania Railroad.
In May 1927, Henry Keiser described the Coal Region towns where he grew up as they looked in the 1850s.
On February 7, 1862, a roof collapsed inside the Short Mountain Colliery killing a respected miner and wounding several others.
A photograph taken shortly after the Civil War shows mining operations in Wiconisco Township in Dauphin County in the 1860s.