I was chatting with a man who described exploring coal mines in the East End (Garfield, Bloomfield, East Liberty area?) in the 70s and have not been able to find more information about them. Does anyone have similar stories growing up in Pittsburgh? Or know any history about them?

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madcap62 t1_iycuqng wrote on November 30, 2022 at 1:33 PM

I grew up in Braddock Hills and there was at least one open mine that we were aware of as kids. I think it was in the woods behind houses that line Brinton Road. We used to call the area the Coal Fields when we were kids (late '60s, early '70s). Got curious about the facts and found this link that has a bit more detail ... Also, my recollection is that mine subsidence caused major problems on the "new" Swissvale High School back in the late 70s.

Watchyousuffer t1_iyczg2v wrote on November 30, 2022 at 2:13 PM

a lot of mining was done in swissvale by the dickson stuart company 1860s-1870s. it was the first major industry here besides farming.

Urbanspy87 t1_iyc0imv wrote on November 30, 2022 at 7:09 AM

Oh yeah a bunch of the east end is on coal lines. I had no idea until recently. Apparently they are all over Greenfield

KentuckYSnow t1_iybys98 wrote on November 30, 2022 at 6:47 AM

There's an undermined layer on the ArcGIS that shoes where known mines are located. Pretty much in Garfield under the new projects.

ShowMeUrrGenitals t1_iycmgv0 wrote on November 30, 2022 at 12:12 PM

https://www.minemaps.psu.edu

mrsrtz t1_iyd4uan wrote on November 30, 2022 at 2:54 PM

Have a look at these old maps from the 1930s:

Wilkinsburg https://digital.libraries.psu.edu/digital/collection/wpamaps/id/3470/rec/266

East End https://digital.libraries.psu.edu/digital/collection/wpamaps/id/3516/rec/268

CL-MotoTech t1_iyd1uwc wrote on November 30, 2022 at 2:32 PM

A lot of the city is undermined. Room and pillar mining was very common in this region, as you probably know, but what a lot of people don't realize is the crazy amount of area it covers. Almost all of western PA is undermined to some extent.

https://gis.pittsburghpa.gov/pghzoning/

Deselect zoning at the top. Then select "environment" then "undermined".

Not much going on in the east Liberty area though there is some in Garfield, lots in the south hills.

burritoace t1_iydbizq wrote on November 30, 2022 at 3:41 PM

>Not much going on in the east Liberty area though there is some in Garfield, lots in the south hills.

I think East Lib isn't at a high enough elevation to get up above the coal seam in the city

greentea1985 t1_iyczhjb wrote on November 30, 2022 at 2:13 PM

There’s a bunch in the south hills. I think right off Bower Hill Road is a tunnel from a rail line that used to service them.

Lazy-Associate-4508 t1_iydfg7g wrote on November 30, 2022 at 4:07 PM

I know my childhood home on Castle Shannon Blvd in Mt. Lebanon has a mine underneath it. Based on the maps, my parents had to purchase mine subsidence insurance.