A Rare Glimpse of Montour County Iron Ore Mine Activity

By Van Wagner April, 2019

Iron ore was mined in the Danville area beginning in the late 1820’s.  This was Columbia County until 1850 when Montour County was created.  There is very little surviving documentation on the mines.   Much of what is known is pieced together from oral tradition and scraps of documents.  However, in 1886 the Department of the Interior Census Office published a report on the “Mining Industries of the United States with special investigations on the iron resources of the republic”.  This document is over 1,000 pages long and contains some great information on the activity, at that time, of Montour County iron ore mining. 

Montour County is listed as having produced 33,890 tons of fossil ore that year valued at $58,400.  The state total was 2,185,675  tons with Lehigh county leading production with 410,700 tons. 

Montour County mines employed 133 men underground, 13 boys underground, 3 men above ground, and 3 boys above ground for a total of 157 employed by mining.

Montour County mines had 4 steam engines valued at $6,900 with a combined 283 horsepower.  In addition, there were 13 boilers which produced 240 horsepower. 

The mines consumed 7,000 linear feet of “unsawed lumber” valued at $315.  (I assume this to be mine timbers).

The mines consumed $4,388 worth of explosives (black powder) that year. 

This really is a great document because it shows names, location, and numbers.  That said, there was likely far more mining activity in the area than this document shows.  There are quite a few mines missing from this list (for example the Harding Slope).  “Welch Hill No. 13” suggests there are at least 12 other Welch Hill Mines. (Welch Hill is also known as Welsh Hill).  In addition, the tally of 133 mine workers likely only includes the large “company” mines.   There were dozens of local farmers and land owners who worked in the mines.  Although it does not say so, I suspect the source for this information was tax records.   That would explain why so many mines reported producing 1 ton that year.   It was a way to stay “active” and “on the books” but in reality, we may not know what the actual production was for the year at these mines.  This document gives us a glimpse of the tail end of mining in Montour County.   By 1890 the local mines were done.  1889 was a flood year that ruined several mines.  In addition, the discovery of “Lake Ore” around the same time flooded the market with inexpensive iron ore.  Local furnaces continued operating on imported ore for a few years.