A bit of stealth may be required, not that this area gets any
visitors, but it is adjacent to a construction entrance and you may
encounter trucks pulling in and out, so keep a heads-up.
Now if you are interested in making it a little more than just a
roadside micro, there IS a reason I placed this cache here. What
you're looking at is what little is left of the Brier Hill coal
mine and coke works. I would have loved to have placed a
traditional cache where the action is, but unfortunately: A) it is
on posted private property, B) an active slate dump reclamation is
underway C) active new construction is underway and D) it is a very
dangerous area, tons of sinkholes and other hazards. So instead,
this microcache is located at the Brier Hill honor roll, dedicated
to those in the area who have served their country.
From the honor roll, you will be able to see the following
things: The few beehive coke ovens that remain (most were covered
in mine refuse), a single remaining derelict patch house, an old
barn, a tavern built in the 1790's (long before the patch town was
built), the old brier hill post office (that blue shack off to the
right, believe it or not) and numerous remains of mine buildings
(some of which will likely be torn down for new construction), so
bring a camera! If you would like to try an additional view for
pictures, I would suggest parking at the nearby Brier Hill post
office, where you may be able to see additional ruins.
The Brier Hill mine and coke works was constructed around 1903,
and operated until about world war 2. It once operated as many as
470 hand-drawn beehive coke ovens which were probably out of
service by 1920. The mine, however, continued to opreate and dumped
refuse (slate, etc.) on top of most of the old ovens. Rail service
was provided by the Redstone Central R.R. Co. (a subsidiary of the
Monongahela Railway, itself jointly owned by the PRR, P&LE and
B&O railroads) until that line was abandoned and removed in
1936. This line joined the Dunlap branch of the Monongahela Railway
in Republic, where coal and coke could be shipped through the area
of
Junior's Stash and join the PRR or P&LE lines just north of
Brownsville. Or via a backwards move, it could have been sent south
of Republic to the B&O's FM&P line.
For more historical information on the Brier Hill mine and coke
works, (including an undated photograph of the town in its heyday)
click
here.
A high resolution black&white aerial photograph of the area on
September 25, 1938 can be viewed
here.
Some pictures I took a little closer (I had permission to be there)
can be found
here. (You can see many of these from the cache site)
I hope you enjoy this little piece of forgotten history. Please
e-mail me if there are any problems.
Update: Name changed to be part of an upcoming series