Diamonds in the Rough: A History of Alabama's Cahaba Coal Field

2. Mining and Mapping Coal: 1859–1883

2 Mining and Mapping Coal 1859–1883 Joseph Squire may be the least prominent of the personalities involved in the development of the Cahaba coal field, but his role was central. Born the son of an English naval officer on No­vem­ber 24, 1829, at Rochdale, Lancashire, he attended school in England until his father’s untimely death. Instead of pursuing a career as a naval officer as planned, he opted to work in a nearby coal pit. Squire stated that he “made every effort to learn to do any and every kind of work done in the pit.” Drawn by the siren song of America’s market revolution, he immigrated to the United States in 1849 and served a one-­ year apprenticeship as a machinist at the Peabody Furnace in Providence, Rhode Island. Ignoring cries of “gold!” that generated a rush to California, Squire traveled westward by rail to Pittsburgh and then by steamboat to the Kansas-­Nebraska Territory. There he opened several coal mines to supply settlements and steamboats along the Missouri River. While based in St. Louis, Squire learned of high-quality coal and extraction problems in Alabama and moved to Montevallo in the fall of 1859. At this point, Alabama mining operations remained sporadic, with a handful of entrepreneurs exploring undeveloped seams. Upon his arrival, Squire found that disheartened miners had stopped work while awaiting the arrival from Wilkes-­Barre, Pennsylvania, of a steam engine (for hoisting coal) powered by two thirty-­inch cylinder boilers. According to Squire, the miners remained cautiously optimistic that the hoisting steamenginewouldlessentheirlaborandworkload.Herecordedfurtherthat“the scene was a picture of desolation such as I had never seen before.” Relying on his knowledge of the coal mines of his native Lancashire, he sought to improve the techniques used by the Montevallo miners and thereby to increase production.1 Squire immediately encountered many of the trials experienced by mine owners in the antebellum South. In contrast to the situation he confronted in Alabama , mining operations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia mechanized long before those of the Deep South. For example, in the anthracite regions of Pennsylvania , five stationary steam engines were mounted in the Schuylkill fields by 1833; from 1839 to 1849, steam engine use for hoists and pumps increased fifteen-­ fold. In the 1840s, demand for more and cleaner coal required extraction below Mining and Mapping Coal / 25 the water level. This challenge increased the need for capital investments such as shafts, pumps, boilers, hoists, rolls, and breakers. Resisting widespread pessimism, Squire and vari­ ous entrepreneurs sought to buck the trends that supported a traditional agrarian-­ based, anti-­ industrial economy.2 Most of the mines in the Montevallo area were owned by the Alabama Coal MiningCompany(ACMC),andSquirecontractedwithcompanypresident JohnS. Storrs to resume extraction of the coal. In contrast to the prevailing rate of $10 per ton, Squire promised to mine lump coal (assuming continuous operation) and to load it onto rail cars for $2.50 per ton. Receiving a $900 advance from Storrs ($300 per month for the first three months), Squire formed a partnership with Alexander Anderson and John Whitehead to increase his capital. Increasing wages to $1 per ton, Squire recruited miners and opened a new entrance to the Irish Pit. His successful operation fostered resentment from a company superintendent named Donalson, however, and Squire determined to get away from Montevallo upon completion of his contract in 1860.3 Meanwhile, William Phineas Browne and George O. Baker continued to deal with numerous challenges. Perennial difficulties remained as they attempted to balance supply and demand. Quality control persisted as the primary criterion in competing with the ACMC. Floating freight rates and seemingly arbitrary regulations also kept transportation a major concern. Po­ liti­ cal turmoil and economic uncertainty added to feelings of futility. Such disruptions were exacerbated by slave unrest and by money shortages. Finally, both Baker and Browne experienced personal hardships that further complicated their attempts to establish a viable coal venture. In Janu­ ary 1860, Baker informed Browne that the ACMC delivered coal in Selma at $7 per ton. This matched Browne’s price ($6.50 on the yard, $7 delivered ), but Baker projected sales of at least one hundred tons per week. Therefore , he remained concerned about supply from the mines and transportation of the coal by the Alabama & Tennessee Rivers (A&TR) Railroad. He reminded Browne that railroad officials held direct authority for allocating platform cars and thus should be treated kindly. He added: “They know we are only agents...