page_title: Boswell, Pennsylvania
section_title: Mining disasters
hierarchical_section_title: Boswell, Pennsylvania / Mining disasters
caption_attribution_description: English: Aerial photograph of Boswell, Jennerstown and part of Jenner Township, Pennsylvania, Sept. 12, 1967, by the United States Department of Agriculture, Stabilization and Conservation Service.
context_page_description: Boswell is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,277 at the 2010 census.
context_section_description: There have been two noteworthy disasters at the Boswell mines. A methane gas explosion killed five miners in 1909 and another explosion in 1915 killed 22 miners.
  Mining at Boswell was a problem-plagued effort, according to discussions with local residents from the era.  While much archival research remains to be done corroborate these details, it seems apparent that Merchants Coal, and its parent which was eventually known as Hillman Coal & Coke, miscalculated in the siting of Boswell and its mine.  Given the size of Merchant's capital outlay—including construction in Boswell of the world's largest tipple, a central business district and a high school—the company planned big things for Boswell. The town of Jerome appears to have been built as a satellite town, soon to be linked with Boswell, both underground in coal production and on the surface in social and cultural life (the right-of-way for a street car line was acquired between Jerome and Boswell, for instance).  However, local miners tell of the "Stone Wall," an unexpected and virtually insurmountable underground geological fault hit midway between Jerome and Boswell that prevented the linking of the two mines at a reasonable cost.  Evidence of this fault can be seen on the land surface near Route 601 about two miles (3 km) south of Jerome. (Indeed, when mechanized deep-mining resumed in this area for a time in the late 20th century, the entry shaft was sunk adjacent to this fault, presumably so access could be had to the entire field.)  It can be speculated that Hillman had planned to use Boswell as its primary processing facility after the link-up, thus the huge tipple.  Hillman also likely planned to make Boswell the center of operations and community life (of evidence, the high school).  But the two mines never came together; in fact, Boswell's mine proved to be significantly less productive than Jerome's, as shown by documented production figures from 1927, for example.  In that year, Boswell produced 204,592 tons of coal, while Jerome produced 816,568 tons, four times as much.
  The Boswell mine closed on March 29, 1939, due to the excessive cost of transporting coal to the surface (the Jerome mine worked until 1954). The Boswell tipple was dismantled in 1940, though some of the tipple's abutments still stand today. After the mine closed a slow economic decline set in.  However, many businesses survived well into the 1960s and early 1970s. Railroad freight service to Boswell stopped in the early 1970s. Boswell today is primarily a bedroom community.
  In 1970, the high school was rechristened as North Star High School. It is the successor from the earlier Boswell, Jenner Boswell, Jenner-Boswell-Jennerstown, and Forbes High Schools.  The high school is approaching its centenary and currently serves the two surrounding townships (Jenner and Quemahoning) and three boroughs (Jennerstown, Stoystown and Hooversville) in addition to Boswell residents.
  Orenda Park, a community forest and picnic area, has been established at the site of the former coal tipple.  The park is maintained by the Boswell Area Historical Society. The Boswell Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
caption: Aerial view of Boswell and vicinity, Sept. 12, 1967.
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