Bituminous coal "soft coal" was first mined in Pennsylvania at "Coal Hill" (Mount Washington), just across the Monongahela River from the city of Pittsburgh in the late 1700s. The Pittsburgh coal seam outcropped along the hillside, and was transported by canoe to the nearby military garrison. Development of the anthracite coalfields in eastern Pennsylvania had progressed to the point where "hard coal" had captured the eastern markets. Consequently, bituminous coal production in western Pennsylvania grew principally with western population growth, expansion and development of rail and river transportation facilities to the west, and the emergence of the steel industry. Towards the last half of the nineteenth century, the demand for steel generated by the explosive growth of the railroad industry and ship building concerns, began to further impact bituminous coal production in western Pennsylvania. Until the development of modern longwall mining, Pennsylvania’s underground bituminous coal production came almost exclusively from room-and-pillar mines; they relied on manual labor to cut the coal at the working face and the coal was hauled from the mine by horse and wagon.
IN PITTSBURGH THE COAL SEAM OUTCROPPED ALONG THE HILLSIDE OF MOUNT WASHINGTON...THE COAL WAS TRANSPORTED BY WHAT TO THE NEARBY MILITARY GARRISON ????????
STEAMBOAT = N 40 47.675 W 078 55.603
CANOE = N 40 46.974 W 078 55.217
CONGRATULATIONS TO schmuck&puttz FOR THE FTF