Special offer

Oregon Coal Mines - "Who'da Thunk It?"

By
Real Estate Agent with Century 21 Harris & Taylor

Oregon Coal Mines - "Who'da Thunk It?"

Oregon Coal Mines once prospered along with our gold mines.

Coal Mines

We are known for our gold mining history, but few people realize that there's coal in "them thar hills."

The southern Oregon coast wasn't much of a gold producing area, but they did discover vast stores of coal in the early 1850's south of Coos Bay.

Coal Mines

One of the largest Oregon Coal Mines was the Beaver Hill mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coal Mines

Oregon Coal Mines supplied much of San Francisco's coal supply starting in the mid 1850's.

Oregon Coal Mines prospered up into the mid 1880's, when coal prices plummeted and they ran into employee troubles.

Since most Oregon Coal Mines had been bought by outsiders by that time, the mines began to fold.  Oregon Coal Mines once numbered over seventy.

 

The final blow to coal prices came when ship's ballast was being comprised of coal, when the ships unloaded in San Francisco, they also sold the ballast, thus driving coal prices down and helping to bring about the demise of the Oregon Coal Mines.

Coal Mines

Now, Oregon gets its' coal from the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming.  It is said that 40% of the United States gets its' coal from this area.

 

Posted by

More hikes and adventures in beautiful and wild Southern Oregon are yours by ordering "Hiking Sasquatch Country."  This book gives you directions, GPS coordinates, and a full photo log to fun in Southern Oregon.  You can purchase it at Amazon.com or any major bookstore.

 

Grants Pass Homes For Sale

Pick up the phone and let me welcome you home! Gary Swanson

If you need a Realtor® to help you buy or sell a home in Grants Pass, Josephine County or Jackson County, let me Google one for you.

See Grants Pass Homes For Sale.

Follow GLSwansonHomes on Twitter                                                  

 

Comments (3)

Jenny Kotulak
RE/MAX Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage - Oakville, ON
Broker - Oakville Ontario Real Estate

OK it's late here in Ontario (1:00 a.m) and this may sound very silly but what is the coal used for now?  Great history lesson by the way.

Feb 23, 2010 04:05 PM
Aaron Vaughn 830-358-0455
Conifer Builders LLC - Canyon Lake, TX

I was born in Oregon ... but I got over it! =)

Seriously, though, I was aware of the coal history, thanks to some booth I saw at an Oregon Trail exhibit I saw when I was a kid.

Feb 23, 2010 04:33 PM
Anonymous
Jim

Anyone have any of the histgory of the Mandronas Coal mine near Molalla?

Oct 07, 2015 11:01 AM
#3