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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
MARIANNA, PA
Genealogy and family history
research in the area of
Little Washington, Washington County, Pennsylvania from 1700 to present.
Nearest cities: Deemston, PA (4.6 miles ), Clarksville, PA (5.3
miles ), Cokeburg, PA (6.7 miles ), Beallsville, PA (6.8 miles ), Jefferson, PA
(6.9 miles ), Fredericktown-Millsboro, PA (7.8 miles ), Ellsworth, PA (8.8 miles
), Morrisville, PA (9.0 miles ). Latitude: 40.02 N, Longitude: 80.11 W
Continuing On After Disaster: the Town of Marianna
by Judith Florian
Probably one of the most sought-after --and hard to find -- books about Marianna
is A Bicentennial History of West Bethlehem Township and Marianna Borough
1776-1976, compiled by Lillian Potisek and Singadine Muchant, approximately
56pp. The reader is treated liberally to page after page of photos with
several maps of the early townships, including West Bethlehem Twp., which in
part was taken from Amwell Twp.
Located north east of
the National Pike, this area is known as Ten Mile, after the creek of the same
name which was once called Cusuthee by the Indians who lived here even after
settlers began to come. The groups attempted to live in harmony, but there
were uprisings and Indian raids periodically. For this reason, the
settlers built stockade forts that were easily accessible by those living
nearby. West Bethlehem had at least three forts: Enoch's Fort (built ca.
1770 by Enoch Enoch) 1 mile from Lone Pine (northern section); McFarland's Fort
(later the George Earnest farm); Milliken's Fort (built ca. 1772 near the Amwell
Twp. line. Additionally, there was an Indian Fort at Zollarsville behind
Ulery's Mill, which overlooked Ten Mile Creek. This creek was named, as
others were of the same name in other states, because it was 10 miles from the
mouth of a major river, in this case 10 miles from the Monongahela River.
[Later, the channel of the Ten Mile was "moved" 100 yards to the south
near the Marianna Mine, to accommodate the railroad coming through the area.
The former channel still shows an area known as the "Dead Pond."]
Early settlers included Scots, English, and Germans, who traveled one of the
Trails by foot, horse, or wagon from eastern PA, or came from Virginia and
Maryland by foot, horse, wagon, or along the Monongahela River. The
largest community in West Bethlehem Township was Zollarsville, until 1908.
Daniel Zollars, the town's namesake, had built the first house there.
Jacob Ulery built a water-powered grist mill in 1835 at Zollarsville; Stephen
Ulery later operated it by steam. Stephen Ulery built a brick home from
which he ran the "White Pine" Hotel. By 1856, he had laid out
the village of Zollarsville.
From thick forested lands of the 1700s where Indians had settled, the Ten Mile
area of Amwell and West Bethlehem townships became tomahawked small settlements
of the mid-1700s, quickly transforming into farms of 300 to 400 acres (mostly)
showing the building of homes and outbuildings for animals, the tilling of
fields, and the building of both roads primary roads and small lanes into and
out of owned lands. These early settlers relied on their one commodity,
that which could be grown on or by the land. These men never dreamed that
by the end of the 1800s and early 1900s, they would receive offers of $10 up to
$150 per acre for the commodity that lay under their fields: coal. Of a
13,000 acre area of the famous Pittsburgh Coal Seam that lies, in part, under
West Bethlehem Township, it is estimated that the coal rights under about 12,000
acres of tracts were sold by the farmers to the coal companies; the
Buffalo-Pittsburg firm owned 6,000 acres in Marianna by 1910, with further
purchases later. Like oil in other areas of Washington County during the
late 1800s to early 1900s, the initial sale of the underground rights made some
families some quick and large sums of money (other farmers did not benefit,
however). This included farmers in the earlier built towns of Fairfield
(laid out by Bill Horne from land of the Ulery Estate) and West Zollarsville
(laid out by Howkins and Hoskinson of Waynesburg, 1906).
In the midst of these
new towns and the purchase of coal rights, the town of Marianna was established.
It was named after Mary Ann Feehan Jones, who was the wife of David G. Jones,
secretary and treasurer of the Pittsburg-Buffalo Company [Note: Pittsburg at the
time had no 'h'.] This coal company was owned by the Jones brothers, John
H., William I. (d. 1905), Thomas P., David J. and Harry P. These men were
sons of James Jones, founder of the "James Jones and Sons" company
(founded 1896). After this firm was incorporated in 1903 into the
"Pittsburg-Buffalo Company" was headed by its president, John H.
Jones. The Jones brothers had also owned the Johnetta Foundry and Machine
Company near Pittsburgh. [Note: Feehan was a name associated with unionization
of coal miners in SW PA in the early 1900s.] After the mines opened at
Marianna, the Jones' sold the Johnetta works. Near the Rachel mine, they
built the state of the art 2-story "Rachel Plant" which was furnished
with all the finest heavy-duty equipment for any/all repairs to railroad cars,
mining and other machinery.
May 7, 1906, the Jones brothers made contracts to sink two shafts on the Shidler
(see Brethren section of this website) and Fulton farms. This was followed
by the Rachel Mine [No. 1] in 1908, just north of the original two shafts.
All the new equipment, from the steel tipples, double hoisting cages, cars,
tracks, to the switches had been made at the Johnetta plant before its sale.
The newly built Rachel Plant had a 1100 pound steam hammer, a 400 ton wheel
press, a 72 inch boring machine, and overhead moving cranes, according to the
town's Bicentennial History. Substandard coal was fed by
conveyor bed to the top of the boiler house. This refuse was mixed with
slack for fuel, which was shoveled by men and boys into furnaces that ran the
Power Plant. This Plant powered equipment used in mining as well as
operating the tipple for the mines, and the electric generator that supplied
lighting to the mine and the town of Marianna. Mr. Jeffreys was in charge
of the plant; Tom Wolfe and Harry Hoover were the last to run the steam hoisting
engine in the power plant. The engine was shipped to South America in
1953.
Turning attention to the town itself, with the purchase of the coal rights from
the farmers, John H. Jones quickly contracted for 282 houses to be constructed.
The houses were 4, 5 or 6 rooms; the largest were permanent for mine bosses, or
owners who might need temporary lodging. The smaller homes were for
miners, as well as a 14-room boarding house erected on the hillside behind the
mine shafts. The homes were made of yellow-color bricks, fired at Johnetta
Plant of the United States Sewer Pipe Company (also owned by the Jones'
brothers), and shipped by rail to Marianna. Within a few months, this
former farmland area became not just a town, but the "model mining town of
the world." A 6-room house rented for $6.00 a month; this
included free water supplied by a company-built water reservoir to process water
from Ten Mile Creek, free electricity provided by the Power Plant, and garbage
removal. Each residence had indoor hot water and bathrooms, town sewage
treatment, natural gas, and "landscaping" of 1 tree in each front
yard. A modern 3-story brick school-house and the Marianna Arcade building
were built in 1910' the Arcade had a drug store, ice cream parlor, bowling
alleys, billiard tables, dance floor/skating rink, reading/lecture room, and an
indoor pool. [The building burned down within 6 moths but was replaced
with a simpler building that also had a jail.] By 1911 all streets were
paved. The railroad brought in goods to supply the huge company store that
was designed to meet every need for nutrition and home furnishing.
Within months of the homes going up, miners from foreign countries read
advertisements in their local newspapers that touted living in the
"ideal" mining town, where they would be provided adequate and
comfortable residences and have their every need met within the town limits.
Miners came from everywhere. Russians, Italians, Slavs, Scots,
English, and Germans answered the call to fulfill their dreams for a better
life. So many arrived to run the mining operations that a "Shanty
Town" of two rows of small frame houses had to be built later near the
reservoir. These immigrants, as 'bachelors' who had left their families to
come here, or entire families with numerous children, had also brought the 'old
country' with them in the way of customs, traditions, music, songs and dance.
During off-hours, the air filled with the boisterous goings-on of town-life.
Peddlers and hucksters traveled by foot, wagon, or buggy, hawking their wares up
and down the rows of homes (as in other communities throughout the county during
this period). Everything from fresh bread, to produce, to household goods
were 'yelled out' along the route, alerting prospective customers to grab their
small change purses, tidy themselves, before hurrying out to the street to meet
the sellers.
Both men and boys
wore the black dust of working in the mines, on long shifts that supposedly paid
well for the times (over $7 a day at first) - except for the fact that
everything was owed to the mine, from health costs of the "company
doctor," to food and furnishings from the 'company store,' to housing costs
owed to the company itself, and the fact that mining was still a very dangerous
industry. Everything revolved around and was for the benefit of
(mostly), the mine company. The Charleroi Mail newspaper of those
years offers glimpses into the world of the coal miners in the county.
Labor movements had been begun to improve mine safety. The most
knowledgeable miners of the time lectured to anyone listening for the need of
"practical miners," those who had the experience already of mining and
who demonstrated safe measures when underground or near the mine. This was
a time when TNT, glycerin, and other explosives were routinely taken home at the
end of shifts...and the explosives often caused injury and death to women and
children who did not recognize the dangers. Miners were still fighting to
use these high explosives, which left coal in chunks, while safer explosives
resulted in more "coal dust" - coal dust was harder to measure and
resulted in lower pay. Each week, deaths or injuries resulted from roof
slate falls or other problems within the mines. Ventilation was often poor
or lacking in most mines. A candle lighted the miner's hat, and in turn
set off methane which always rises to the mine's roof. Union organizers
were constantly preaching safety, especially after another death of one-to-a few
miners in "unfortunate accidents." Mine Inspectors were supposed
to keep the mines safer for employees, but often lacked the skill necessary to
recognize immediate dangers, or who (it is suggested by many news articles),
lacked the power or independence from the mine companies and operators to take
action when danger was suspected. The companies/operators had the power,
but rarely the inclination, to protect its workers. Miners were so
numerous, they were easily replaced. Coal was the commodity and the only
objective was bringing this commodity to the surface, where it could be shipped
by railroad and barge on rivers to points across the United States in all
directions.
Early in 1908, the
company had opened No. 1 Rachel, No. 2 Agnes, and No. 3 Blache mines. The
deepest shaft was said to be 460 feet; the shallowest, 340 feet down. All
shafts were 25 feet by 32 feet in diameter, according to the Bicentennial
History. The coal seam in this area was 68 inches thick with slate
of 12 inches over it. Safety in these "model mines" at
Marianna was brought directly into view by the well-known tragedy of November
28, 1908. Newspaper accounts differ, but on that day, at least
150 men had arrived for work and entered the mine. In an ironic twist, a
Mine Inspector had just completed his routine rounds a few minutes earlier and
had believed the mine to be "safe." The Inspector was just
leaving when a blast rocked the mine deep underground. Quoting from
the newspaper entries: "Inspector Henry Louttit had just stepped from the
cage of shaft No. 2, when the explosion took place. He had been at Marianna for
two days and had inspected the mines every half hour on Friday and during the
same intervals Saturday morning up until the time of the explosion."
And... "Engineer and General Superintendent A. C. Beeson had come to the
surface just a few minutes before Louttit. He had found the mine in
perfect condition." The explosion occurred in the No. 2 Agnes mine
shortly before 11 a. m. This shaft was the air and supply entry for
all three mines; the explosion took out the ventilation fans and wrecked the
cage, which fell, mangled, back into the mine shaft. One man was killed in
the cage, and 152 died inside the mine. Only one man, Fred Elinger, an
immigrant from Germany, was rescued by Thomas Carney at 8:55 p.m; Elinger
ultimately survived the disaster. The explosion, which was
heard at Beallsville and Scenery Hill, was determined at an inquest held Dec.
17th to have been "caused by a blown-out shot in Blanche Entry No. 3, which
ignited gas and dust and caused a secondary explosion in the main dip entries
almost simultaneously." (See Bicentennial History.) Newspaper
accounts can be read at: www.chartiers.com/pages-new/articles/marianna.html
Other newspapers of the county, like the Charleroi Mail, contain numerous
articles.
This article conveys the sadness of that day:
From the Charleroi Mail, Charleroi, Washington County,
Pennsylvania, November 30, 1908, page 2:
The Terrible Mine Disaster -- The Terrible disaster Saturday at the new
Marianna mine brings to us with a vividness that nothing else could the need of
improvements and a more perfect system whereby the dangers which seem to be so
great could be eliminated. The awfulness of the catastrophe; the suffering of
the widows and children is terrible. Some are almost frantic with grief and
others have lost their minds. The sadness of the scene cannot be depicted and no
one knows but those who survive what is to be endured. The calamity has cast a
gloom over the entire community for miles around and contributions are being
made, the money to go toward aiding the widows and children who are left
practically penniless and without a means of livelihood, by the sudden taking
away of the ones who furnished their bread and butter. Thanksgiving, the miners
did not work, spending the day with their families and friends. All was gayness;
the next day suffering and death.
The Marianna
mine which were touted as being a model has proved to be a death trap. An
astounding fact, indeed. Dangers menace even in the best of workings and where
there is supposed to be least chance of accident. Whether it was negligence on
someones (sic) part that was the primary cause of the disaster will probably
never be known. But it is evident that there must surely have been something
seriously wrong even at the time that Mine Inspector Loutitt was in the place.
The theory of a gas pocket having been struck may be a good one and may be the
true reason, for the catastrophe. Even if it was there should be some way
provided so that similar catastrophes could be avoided in the future, in other
mines.
Charleroi
people have special reason for extending ready sympathy and aid, as many of the
miners of this place, or those who formerly resided here are among the dead.
A large number are from Black Diamond and other places along the river."
A mass burial of miners who died in this disaster was held at Scenery Hill
Cemetery, where bodies were carried by buggies/wagons from the mine. Many
were not identified, due to extensive burns and disfiguring injuries.
Others were buried at Monongahela Cemetery. Some bodies were never
found; it was suspected that perhaps some families took the bodies away from the
mine site; it is more likely that some bodies were consumed by the inferno.
See more articles from this period.
Mine Disaster
Streams, rivers, and creeks: Daniels Run , Patterson Run, Plum Run
Reservoirs: Pond F, Ellsworth Reservoir
SEND ME YOUR PICTURES OR MEMORIES OF
MARIANNA
(washington.co.pa.webmaster@gmail.com - and put Marianna
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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