Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1903-06-19
Anthracite Coal in West Virginia

Anthracite Coal in West Virginia
The recent strike in the Pennsyl
vanla anthracite field has turned th'
attention of miners TO other posslbl
sources of supply for anthracite coal
Small areas are known to exist in Color
ado, New Mexico, Virginia, and Wes
Virginia.
| Among the regions thath Offered
most encouragement is that of the so
called Sleepy Greek Mountain, OF
Third Hill Mountain. in Morgan coun
lty, West Virginia. The presence o.
anthracite coal In this region has beer
known for nearly half a century, anc
some exploration of the beds was made
III earlier days; but the relatively poor
quality of the fuel and the cheapnesf
of Pennsylvania anthracite at the time
appear to have made the competition
of this coal jmpracticable. Recently,
however. che increase in coal prices
and the special circumstances of itf
anthracite character and it's favora
BILE geographical position have caused
renewed interest in the Morgan coun-
ty coal.
This coal field lies in eastern West
Virginia, be,ween Martinsburg and
Berkeley Springs, and is but about 100
miles from tide water at Washington,
or more than so miles nearer than the
Georges Creek, the nearest of the
bituminous basins. 1t embraces a
narrow trough lying between Sleepy
Creek Mountain and Third Hill Noun
tain, and extending from Start Noun
tain, a few miles from Cherry Run on
the Potomac, for 25 miles or more
south westward. The rocks are steeply
folded, and the coal openings, made at
several localities, are supposed by
many to be in several distinct beds of
coal
On account of the number of thick
veins reported, the presence of typical
fire clays, and the character and great
thickness of the coal bearing forma
tions, some engineers have recently re-
garded the rock series as representing
the New River group of Goals. Owing
to the great and far reaching significance
of this question, the matter was taken
up by the United States Geological
Survey and the field was briefly visited
by Mr.. David White, one of its ex-
perts, who finds the series belong,
not to the great Coal Measures of tie
Upper Carboniferous, but to lower
coal bearing formation. near the base
of the Carboniferous series. This, the
POcOnO formation, though generally
lacking in coal of commercial import
ance, has been successfully worked
commercially for many years in south
western Virginia, where, according to
press reports, it is now the special OBJ
ject of railway construction.
Most of the coal openings in the
Sleepy Creek Mountain basin appear
to have been made in a single bed,
which, SO far as prospected, seems to
be of remarkable thickness and extent.
The coal is bright semi.anthracite,
locally anthracite, generally badly
pocketed, and very high in
ash, the earthly matter being frequent
ly distributed as knife-edge partings.
Whether it's impurity and inferior
structure will be so serious as to debar
it from competing at a reduced price
with Pennsylvania anthracite remains
to be proved by exploration and analy-
ses. Should this thick and extensive
bed of anthracite Or semi-anthracite
prove to be of sufficient purity for COM
use, the Sleepy Greek Noun
tain field will afford large supply of
bright, smokeless coal, that should be
delivered at tide water at prices con-
siderably lower than those charged for
Pennsylvania anthracite.
The great thickness of the bed and
the disqualification of the coal involve
interesting questions. The former Mr..
White explains by the extreme east
ward position of the field and its near
ness to the supply of coal making
vegetation. The natural reduction of
the once bituminous coal to anthracite
is attributed by him to the extremely
porous texture of the series and it's
nearness to the eastern region of met
amOrphic influence.