Local Partners, DEP Dedicate Historical Headframe At Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine Tourism Site

Local partners and the Department of Environmental Protection Monday dedicated a new addition to the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine tourism site in Schuylkill County that represents a big piece of regional history: a 35-foot headframe from a local coal mine.

“This project enhances the educational experience at Pioneer Tunnel and adds an asset to the local tourism economy, while providing a lasting reminder of the integral role anthracite mining plays in northeast Pennsylvania,” said John Stefanko, DEP Deputy Secretary for Active and Abandoned Mine Operations.

The headframe once stood at Bowman’s shaft at North Mahanoy Colliery, where hundreds of local workers passed under it to enter the mine during operations from the mid-1850s to 1931.

The work on the abandoned mine land near the Pioneer Tunnel, completed in 2015, included salvaging the headframe; backfilling a 165-foot-deep mine shaft near several homes; and removing an old pump house, a deteriorated reinforced concrete electrical house and various concrete foundations. The site was regraded and revegetated.

DEP awarded funding through the 2016 Abandoned Mine Land Pilot Program to

Pioneer Tunnel to refurbish and erect the headframe at the tourism site.

Project partners include the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Interior; Ashland Borough; Ashland Community Enterprises; Keystone Anthracite; Pagnotti Enterprises; PA Anthracite Heritage Museum; Pioneer Tunnel Group; and Schuylkill County.

The OSMRE-funded DEP Abandoned Mine Land Pilot Program includes 14 projects statewide targeted to areas where mine reclamation has strong potential for community and economic gain as well as environmental benefits.

(First Photo: Pioneer Tunnel headframe, courtesy of PA Anthracite Heritage Museum, Mike Korb.)