1866 Martin Coryell Signed Survey of the Diamond Colliery — Pennsylvania Anthracite Mining
Original manuscript engineering survey of the Diamond Colliery at Sugar Loaf, Pennsylvania, prepared and signed by prominent civil and mining engineer Martin Coryell, April 10, 1866.
Coryell carefully records the vertical, horizontal and diagonal measurements of the colliery’s principal workings, including three left-hand workings and new excavations intended to determine the bottom of the coal basin. His calculations extend to 970 feet vertically, 1,426 feet horizontally and 1,759 feet diagonally from the surface.
The survey additionally estimates approximately 11.76 miles of water transportation required to ship the coal at Penn Haven. Coryell describes the inclination of the coal strata at approximately 48¼ degrees and records exploratory work driven through slate, mixed coal and lower strata. A “monkey drift” approximately 41 feet long was run back to the bottom slate to prove the continuation of the coal seam.
Coryell concludes that “the coal is good at the end of workings,” providing a firsthand professional assessment of the colliery’s commercial potential.
Martin Coryell was a respected Pennsylvania mining engineer whose career included canal construction, copper and anthracite mining, mine surveying and management of the Warrior Run Mining Company. In 1871, Coryell joined Eckley B. Coxe and Richard P. Rothwell in organizing the first meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, making him one of the founding figures of the modern American mining-engineering profession.
An uncommon primary document combining Pennsylvania industrial history, anthracite geology and the working calculations of an important early American mining engineer.
Very good condition, with original folds, light toning, minor edge wear and scattered small marks. The writing remains dark and legible, and Coryell’s signature is bold and complete.
Original manuscript engineering survey of the Diamond Colliery at Sugar Loaf, Pennsylvania, prepared and signed by prominent civil and mining engineer Martin Coryell, April 10, 1866.
Coryell carefully records the vertical, horizontal and diagonal measurements of the colliery’s principal workings, including three left-hand workings and new excavations intended to determine the bottom of the coal basin. His calculations extend to 970 feet vertically, 1,426 feet horizontally and 1,759 feet diagonally from the surface.
The survey additionally estimates approximately 11.76 miles of water transportation required to ship the coal at Penn Haven. Coryell describes the inclination of the coal strata at approximately 48¼ degrees and records exploratory work driven through slate, mixed coal and lower strata. A “monkey drift” approximately 41 feet long was run back to the bottom slate to prove the continuation of the coal seam.
Coryell concludes that “the coal is good at the end of workings,” providing a firsthand professional assessment of the colliery’s commercial potential.
Martin Coryell was a respected Pennsylvania mining engineer whose career included canal construction, copper and anthracite mining, mine surveying and management of the Warrior Run Mining Company. In 1871, Coryell joined Eckley B. Coxe and Richard P. Rothwell in organizing the first meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, making him one of the founding figures of the modern American mining-engineering profession.
An uncommon primary document combining Pennsylvania industrial history, anthracite geology and the working calculations of an important early American mining engineer.
Very good condition, with original folds, light toning, minor edge wear and scattered small marks. The writing remains dark and legible, and Coryell’s signature is bold and complete.
