Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records
name: label: Author
content: Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company
label: Names
content: Alliance Coal Mining Company
label: Names
content: Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company
place: label: Place
content: Pennsylvania
topic: label: Topic
content: Coal mines and mining -- Pennsylvania
label: Topic
content: Mining and minerals industry
label: Topic
content: Mining equipment
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Donated by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, Pennsylvania.
creator: label: Author
content: Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company
setName: label: See more items in
content: Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: Fiscal reports, ledgers, journals, coal production records, and inventories documenting the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company was formed on April 21, 1820 by the merger of the Lehigh Navigation Company and the Lehigh Coal Company. Both predecessor companies and the new company were organized by Josiah White, Erskine Hazard, and George F. Hauto. The LCNC was reorganized in 1821 and incorporated by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1822.

The company was involved in anthracite mining and transportation, initially, they made the Lehigh River navigable as a means of getting their coal to Easton and then to Philadelphia via the Delaware River. Later, through canal construction, railway construction and agreements with existing railroads, the company delivered its product to New York, New England, and elsewhere. In the 1820s, LCNC laid rails from its mines to the river landing at Mauch Chunk and also began its railroad from Summit Hill, in the late 1820s, construction of the Lehigh Canal was completed from Mauch Chunk to Easton. Between 1836 and 1838 the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad was completed from the northern anthracite field, connecting Wilkes Barre to White Haven.

In 1840, the first successful iron furnace blast was made with Lehigh coal, in 1844, the company began its first important underground mining. In the 1860s and 1870s, the company completed a railroad from Wilkes Barre to Easton, and the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad was leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey, thereby guaranteeing LCNC access to New York. Early in the twentieth century, the New England area was opened to LCNC through railroad construction.

In 1930 the Lehigh Navigation Coal Company was founded essentially as a holding company for LCNC and other companies, and other organizational changes were made. The company went out of business in 1965.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 72 Cubic feet (245 boxes, 1 map folder)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1815-1966
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Collection transferred from the Division of Extractive Industries (now the Division of Work and Industry) to the Archives Center, October 1983.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.0071
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: This collection is organized into twenty-two series.

Series 1: Annual Reports, 1826-1961

Series 2: Other Reports, 1912-1953

Series 3: Revenue Statements, 1913-1949

Series 4: Ledgers, 1874-1947

Series 5: Inventories, 1877-1945

Series 6: Financial Forecasts, 1949; 1951-1953

Series 7: Trial Balance Books, 1920-1942

Series 8: Journals, 1874-1945

Series 9: Record of Vouchers, 1882-1906

Series 10: Records of Bills Payable and Collectibles, 1907-1948

Series 11: Individual Ledgers, 1904-1908; 1919-1936; 1941-1945

Series 12: Records of Improvements and Special Projects, 1907-1913; 1920-1926

Series 13: Records of Coal Production, 1856-1952

Series 14: Records of Costs of Coal Mining and Preparation, 1890-1907; 1894-1954

Series 15: Comparative Statistical and Cost Data on Coal Mining and Preparation, 1873-1939

Series 16: Payroll Records, 1882-1951

Series 17: Employee Compensation, 1870-1954

Series 18: Contracts, Agreements and Leases, 1879-1931

Series 19: Printed Materials Relating to the Anthracite Industry, 1815-1954

Series 20: Miscellaneous Materials, 1874-1966

Series 21: Oversize Materials, 1829-1945

Series 22: Photographs, 1829, 1929, undated
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Collection processed by Jane Odom and Robert Ageton; revised Alison Oswald, archivist, 2016.
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: This collection consists of records primarily of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Additionally, there are records of the Lehigh Navigation Coal Company and subsidiary companies including the Alliance Coal Mining Company. These records mostly describe anthracite mining in the vicinity of Mauch Chuck and Summit Hill, Pennsylvania. Also included is a smaller amount of material on railroad, canal, and river navigation work of LCNC.

Included are annual reports, 1913-1949, and a few other reports, 1912-1953. There are numerous types of fiscal records such as revenue statements, 1913-1949; ledgers, 1874-1906; financial forecasts, 1949-1953; trial balance books, 1920-1942; journals, 1874-1945; records of vouchers, 1882-1906; records of bills payable, 1907-1948; and individual ledgers, 1904-1944. Also included are records of coal production, 1900-1906; records of cost of coal mining and preparation, 1890-1954; and comparative statistical and cost data on coal mining and preparation, 1920-1939. In addition to fiscal records and records relating to coal production, there are inventories, 1898-1947 and records of improvements and special projects, 1909-1926. Also, there is a large group of payroll records, 1894-1907, and other records relating to employee compensation, 1870-1954.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: Materials at Other Organizations

Pennsylvania State Archives

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records, 1792-1978

Penn State University Libraries

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records, 1835-1913

Lehigh University Special Collections

Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company collection, 1826-1913