Historic Footage of Pennsylvania Colliery, ca. 1930-1940

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Historic Footage of Pennsylvania Colliery, ca. 1930-1940

A 2:48 SILENT black & white archival film clip from Benjamin Harrison Hay's Footage of a Pennsylvania Colliery, ca. 1930-1940. Hay's footage shows the mining village of Buck Run, located about 45 miles west of Allentown, Pennsylvania built for operators, managers and employees of the Buck Run Coal Company which was in operation from 1902 until 1950. The original mine owner James B. Neale was socially progressive and wanted to create a community for the benefit of his workers. By 1925 the town boasted a school, an infirmary, a community recreation facility, a company store and several churches, in addition to homes with running water, electricity and steam heat. Benjamin Harrison Hay was Neale's general manager, vice president and brother-in-law who assumed control of the company upon Neale's death in 1943. Buck Run Coal was bought out was bought out by Reading Anthracite Company in 1950 and the social experiment came to an end. Very little of the original company town remains today. This clip shows a steam shovel loading processed coal onto a rail car and workers entering and returning from the mine. For further information, search SOVA.si.edu for the Benjamin Harrison Hay finding aid.

2 min 48 sec

archival historical educational film video anthropology archeology parks ethnographic history culture "cultural geography" "heritage sites" 16mm architecture transportation