Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1911-10-12
DEVELOPMENT HAS
BEEN MARVELLOUS
Opening Up of This Sections Coal Area
Is Making Virginia Quite a Factor as
a Coal Producing State.

There are few Virginians living out
side of the producing areas themselves
that realize how the output of coal in
virginia has steadily increased during
the past decade from 2, 1893, 754 tons in
1900 to 6,5O7, 997 tons in 1910. Since
1900, lacking a few thousand tons. it
had practically doubled and in the last
year OF the decade Q91O,) as shown bv
the statistics gathered by the Virginia
and Federal Surveys, there was an un-
usual increase, in fact it was a great
deal larger than the usual annual incre-
ment. In other words, the production
IN 1909 was 4,752, ,217 short tons. ex-
ceedlng all previous records, but this
was beaten in 1910 by the unprecedent-
ed increase of I,755, $50 tons. nearly n
per cent. The value increased 81. .626.-
43O or 80 per cent, or from 81, ,251. .O56 to
80, 817, ,486. Likewise there has been q
corresponding Increase in the value of
the coal lands which have doubled.
treoled and quadrupled in the same De-
Rod, the price per acre varying accord
ing to proximity to transportation and
the intrinsic worth based on number.
thickness and quality of the occurring
coal beds Further, the statistics shoT
that the Virginia miner is as efficient
as found anywhere. The per canita
production averaged 896 tons for the
year while the output per man each dav
was 3. " tons. Both of these averages
are better than shown in the majority
of the coal producing states. The ma
Jority of the Virginia miners work 10
hours per day, the range being from
to 10 hours with the exception of one
mine where the 8 hour day obtains. The
distribution according to the hour-dav
of the total number of miners employed
O,264) in 1910 was IS follows: 5.7lO
men working 10 hours per day; l. .O2l
working 9 hours per day, and the rest
working hours per day.
While it is gratifying to know that
the coal fields of Virginia are now being
brought into fuller development each
year, and many instructive facts are be-
ing assembled annually concerning the
occurrence of coal in the State. it is
also worth recalling the very interest
ing fact that, though the Old Dominion
now ranks thirteenth in the list of pro-
ducing states and territories, there was
a time when she stood at the head of
the list, for the first coal, fact not
generally known, obtained in the United
States was mined in Virginia in the
Richmond coal basin, an area of triss.
sic age near Richmond, or in other
words its coal beds were formed rnucb
later than those, for instance. of
Southwest Virginia. This basin is situ-
ated on the eastern margin of the Pied
mont Plateau, 13 miles west of Rich
mond, on the James river. It lies in
Goochland, Henrico, Powhatan and
Chesterfield counties. Coal was first
mined here in 1850 and by 1922 the pro-
duction amounted to "a, 900 tons. and
continued to increase until 1882 when if
began to decline. The maximum nro-
duction reached was more than 100 600
tons, which continued for a number of
years. Owing, however, to the CONNIE
titlon OF the New River and Pocahontas
Goals, operations were suspended in the
Richmond basin during the latter part
OF the nineteenth and the first few wears
OF the present century. But within re-
cent years the rehabilitation of the min
ing industry of the district was under
taken by the Old Dominion Develon-
ment Company, with the result that
the mines which had been idle for wears
were again put in condition for a CON-
siderable tonnage.
Though many will be interested in
knowing of the revival of coal MINING,
IN the basin, nevertheless, it should be
remembered that the chief coal outnnt
OF the State comes from Southwest
Virginia. In fact it is due to the coal
fields OF the Southwest that Virginia
is entitled to rank among the principaI
coal producing states. The PRODUCING
counties IN this section are Wise. Taze-
well, Lee, Russell, Pulaski and Mont
gomery, with Wise leading the list
Within few years the two counties of
Buchanan and Dickenson, which are
rich IN the occurrences of coal, will also
add their tonnage and greatly augment
the total annual output. Their deveI-
opment has been retarded only because
OF the lack of transportation facilities
and, now that this drawback has been
obvisted, the Inauguration of MANY new
mining enterprises within their border.
may, as indicated above, be confidently
looked for within a comparatively short
period. Many interesting facts con-
corning this development and regarding
all of the coal fields of the State. which
1T would be impossible to mention with
in the compass of a short article like
this, will be forthcoming and available