The Cairo bulletin., 1907-05-06
.HARDCOAL CENTENARY
TO BE CELEBRATED az WILKES.
BARRE, PA, NEXT YEAR.
Anthracite First Burned In Open
Crate on February II, tso8-sup-
posed Original Fireplace
Found to Be a pupli.

l9US, Wllkesharre Is to celebrate thu
l00th seniversary Of the day on which
anthracite coal was first burned In az
y open CRATE. incidentally the ruthless
y searcher after facts has shown that
n what was supposed to be history was
merely tradition. for It has been
learned that the original CRATE Is not
s now in existence and that the CRATE
). now carefully preserved in the Fell
House IN Wikesharre as the original
is duplicate which was placed in
the original fireplace in 1878
Before the experiment made by
: Judge Jesse Fell in his tavern in
t Wilkesbarre and Easton turnpike.
now Northampton street, anthracite
coal was held to be OF little value, for
il was thought that II would not burn
except under forced draught BY
burning anthracite IN an open CRATE
Judge Fell opened the way to an in.
dustry which now gives employment
to $4,000 men. who produced 10000
00e tons Of anthracite annually and
which has given millions of dollars In
| royalties 20 the owners OF the lands
lust 10 years after his experiment
four young men were travelling To-
ward Wilkesbarre One OF them was
grandson ot Judge Fell He had
that day been reading In an old copy
! Of a Wei known Masonic book an ac
| count OF the experiment made by his
/ grandfather When he mentioned it |
/ one OF the members Of the party re- |
called thar the experiment had been |
made inst 80 years before The
young men determined that some
thing must be done to celebrate the
occasion
When they arrived in Wilkesbarre
they called a public meeting, 10 be
held in the same old tavern in which
Judge Fell made his experiment The
four young men were James Platter
Dennis, a grandson Of Judge Fell;
Henry Martyr Hoyt. afterward gov
ernor Of Pennsylvania; John Butler
Cunningham and Stanley Woodward,
afterward leading lawyer OF the
state.
Thus they became the founders OF
The Wyoming Historical and Geologi-
cal society 1t is this organization
that now proposes to celebrate the
tooth anniversary of the experiment
Of Judge Fell
II was al meeting Of the society |
that The facts concerning the old
Jesse Fell CRATE were learned. A pa
per Oh Where is the crate on which
Jesse Fell made his successful ex-
pertinent Of burning anthracite coal?"
was read before the meeting by Rev
r. Il. Hayden
Mr. Hayden has come to the con
clusion that the original CRATE Is nv
now in existence, and that the only
well authenticated crate extant be-
longing to Judge Fell'' is that hereto
fore known as the Herman or Elck
CRATE and now In the possession of
the society. {
Concerning the original CRATE as
many as six statements are made
The first is that the CRATE was made
OF hickory withes. Mr.. Hayden de-
elares this untrue.
Next comes the Marble CRATE. so
called because its claims were first .
put forth by Col J. NJ c. Marble,
president OF the First National bank
Of Los Angeles He states that while
visiting his grandfather at Wyoming
be was told the story OF Judge Fels =
experiment :!
According to this story some iron ;,
bars We're set in the old chimney,
which Is still in existence in the Fell =
house. bricks were piled in front and :,
IN the sides and on the iron bars a
5re Of hickory wood was built Coal .,
was then procured and placed on the =
ire and il burned nicely. :,
Judge Fell was so pleased. the story
continues. that he took ont this CRATE
and had another more substantial one
made On the following day This. then. -
ilsposes of the original CRATE. r
In 1858 there was no CRATE in the a
fireplace The projectors OF the his y
orical society secured from a Mr.. @
'arpenter an old grate which had =
'een used by Judge Fell and placed it y
y the fireplace for this celebration q,
The old CRATE was worn ont. and
whether il was the one made by q
udge Fell after his first experiment a
= what became OF it afterward is not =
noNn .-4 a
Later In Judge FelIs life he mar a
led a widow named Culver. When
q 1890 they moved from the old Fell "a
oase they took the CRATE with them. a
nd this is the CRATE now Ia the pos "
essiOn of the Historical society. a
The old CRATE now in the original
replace at the Fell house. was. &C y
ording to Capt. Calvin Parsons a
laced in she fireplace By him in 1873 "
ben centennial celebration was @
~ for the Wyoming massacre. q
When in 1906 the original tavern V
as torn down the old fireplace and q
Kinney we're preserved intact and
DIV occupy place Of honor in the -