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Focusing on the lives
of any person or family who has lived in Little Washington,
Washington County, Pennsylvania at anytime throughout
history to recent times, through data and family stories.
NEW SEARCH BOX ADDED
ELLSWORTH, PA
Genealogy and family history research in the area of Little
Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania from 1700 to present.
Nearest cities: Bentleyville, PA (1.4 miles ), Beallsville, PA
(2.9 miles ), Cokeburg, PA (3.0 miles ), Deemston, PA (6.2 miles ), Centerville,
PA (6.7 miles ), Baidland, PA (7.4 miles ), Fredericktown-Millsboro, PA (7.8
miles), North Charleroi, PA (8.2 miles ). Latitude: 40.11 N, Longitude:
80.02 W
The Worth of One Man: James W. Ellsworth
by Judith Florian
NOTE: These pages will attempt to describe the town's
history and a little about the people. With this narrow focus, there
is not enough space to cover the treatment of miners by companies, the push
towards unionization, and the hardships miners faced every day in addition to
the severe dangerous conditions of early mines. However, I acknowledge
this aspect of history and hope to include a different section to focus on mine
conditions.
Some men's names left
their mark in southwestern PA so that just the mention of their last name is
enough, men like Mellon or Carnegie. It is especially notable when a
man's worth is based not only on the money they've made but also the worth of
what they created in their lives. Like many other early citizen's who
gazed over a tract of land, James W. Ellsworth has the distinction of building a
town. But it wasn't just a town of lots, it was a town built around one
specific purpose, that of mining.
The Ellsworth Collieries Company, headed by Chicago native James
W. Ellsworth, opened mines No. 1 and 2 (before or during ca. 1899) located
on the site of Ellsworth, PA. Mr. Ellsworth was known at the time for his
directorship of the Columbia
Exposition (1893). [See this website for information about his
son.] This industrialist had a goal to create a "Dream
City," which he attempted to do in the rolling hills of Washington County.
He instructed to have built model double-walled brick homes with Georgian and
Welsh style architecture for cottages that would house overseas miners. [When
these row houses grew, the company ran low on bricks so they built single-brick
walled homes.] The whole town of buildings and homes were all of red brick
with white trim.
With his connections in New York industry and with the railroad, Mr. Ellsworth
hired an agent in Southhampton, England to recruit miners to immigrate to
Ellsworth, PA. Hundreds of miners came, of various nationalities: Welsh,
English, Swede, Polish, Italian and others. But, not all was well in this
model town. There wasn't enough housing to accommodate the influx of
workers. Boarding houses, without the eye given to the cottages, had
to be erected to provide rooms for miners. Other workers moved in with
residents who had come before. Residents in the company housing were
paying around 2.85 a month in rent.
At the same time, buildings were needed for the mine and the new community.
A company store, a 2 story brick structure, was necessary to provide a place to
purchase food and necessities in this company town. Typically new towns
focus on housing first, schools and churches next, and marketplaces, and it was
much the same in Ellsworth with "the Company" making these things
happen, with the exception of church-buildings. Within 6 years they had
several schools in place. Since the company owned all the land in
Ellsworth, churches had to pick adjoining areas to build their churches, like
St. Luke's Roman Catholic Church built in the borough of Bentleyville. The
town had a Bank, which like others of that time, had its own currency.
Home and family, work, and religious worship were the priorities in miner
families. A former Ellsworth Pa resident describes the town at CoalCampus.com
and gives much detail about the borough and the mines.
(Click to
enlarge. Enlargement is clearer.)
James W. Ellsworth (1849-1925)
Credit to Chicago
Public Library Website
Ownership of the Mines at Ellsworth:
The Ellsworth Collieries Company from ca. 1899 first shafts sunk
James W. Ellsworth Coal Company from 1900-1907
Lackawanna Steel Company from 1907-1922
Bethlehem Steel Company from 1922 - 1953 (Mine 53 portal in
Cokeburg closed in 1953).
MINES at Ellsworth as listed on http://patheoldminer.rootsweb.com
are these:
Ellsworth Coal Company, Ellsworth, PA
See: Ellsworth No. 1 Mine, Washington Co., PA
Ellsworth No. 2 Mine, Washington Co.,
PA
Ellsworth No. 3 Mine, Washington Co.,
PA
Ellsworth No. 4 Mine, Washington Co.,
PA
Ellsworth No. 1 Mine (ca.1900 ? ), located on the Ellsworth Division
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Ellsworth, Washington Co., PA
Owners: (ca.1900- ? ), J. W. Ellsworth & Company,
(ca.1903- ? ), James W. Ellsworth & Company, Ellsworth, PA
(ca.1904- ? ), ?
(ca.1905- ? ), Ellsworth Coal Company, Ellsworth, PA
Web sites on the Ellsworth No. 1 Mine, Ellsworth, Washington Co., PA:
Coal
Miners Memorial Ellsworth No. 1 Mine, Ellsworth, Washington Co., PA
Ellsworth No. 2 Mine (ca.1900- ? ), located on the Ellsworth Division
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Bentleyville, Washington Co., PA
Owners: (ca.1900- ? ), J. W. Ellsworth & Company,
(ca.1903-
? ), James W. Ellsworth & Company, Ellsworth, PA
(ca.1904-
? ), ?
(ca.1905- ? ), Ellsworth Coal Company, Ellsworth, PA
Web sites on the Ellsworth No. 2 Mine, Bentleyville, Washington Co., PA:
Coal
Miners Memorial Ellsworth No. 2 Mine, Bentleyville, Washington Co., PA
Ellsworth No. 3 Mine (ca.1903- ? ), located on the Ellsworth Division
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Cokeburg, Washington Co., PA
Owners: (ca.1903- ? ), James W. Ellsworth & Company, Ellsworth,
PA
(ca.1904-
? ), ?
(ca.1905- ? ), Ellsworth Coal Company, Ellsworth, PA
Web sites on the Ellsworth No. 3 Mine, Cokeburg, Washington Co., PA:
Coal
Miners Memorial Ellsworth No. 3 Mine, Cokeburg, Washington Co., PA
Ellsworth No. 4 Mine (ca.1903- ? ), located on the Ellsworth Division
of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Ellsworth, Washington Co., PA
Owners: (ca.1903- ? ), James W. Ellsworth & Company, Ellsworth,
PA
(ca.1904- ? ), ?
(ca.1905- ? ), Ellsworth Coal Company, Ellsworth, PA
Web sites on the Ellsworth No. 4 Mine, Ellsworth, Washington Co., PA:
Coal
Miners Memorial Ellsworth No. 4 Mine, Ellsworth, Washington Co., PA
Keystone
Town Markers
Pictures
of Ellsworth, PA from the CoalCampus website
Ellsworth
Mines
History
of Coke
Donora Historical
Society (Est. 1946)
Regional
area of Washington County (east section)
Pictures
of Ellsworth from CoalCampus.com
Cemetery: Saint Clements Cemetery (1).
Reservoirs: Pond F (A), Ellsworth Reservoir (B).
Go Back
Go Back to TownTalk
Index
SEND ME YOUR PICTURES OR MEMORIES OF
ELLSWORTH
(washington.co.pa.webmaster@gmail.com - and put
Ellsworth in the subject line)
Go Back to TownTalk
Index
Site History and Updates: Dec '05; Jan '05; Mar
'06
Email
Washington.Co.PA.Webmaster
(c) Judith Ann Florian
159 E. Main St.
Girard, Ohio 44420
Copyright Notice - Data / info. for individuals and surnames may be
reproduced for personal family histories only, but not for any commercial use or
sale. Please give credit to Judith Florian and Catherine L. Caldwell for
locating newspaper items and original documents. You may use J. Florian's
research conclusions if credit is given. No other data or images may be
reproduced without permission. © 2005-present, Judith Florian, Copyright All
rights reserved.
This page was last updated on Friday, January 16, 2009 00:15
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The background was chosen specifically to
emphasize the matriarchal role of women in "the life" of
children and families, and the resilience of all the women of
southwestern Pennsylvania. |
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