THE BEAVER MEADOW BASIN.
This is the first or most southern of the Lehigh basins, and extends from a point several miles east of the village of Beaver Meadow to its western terminus near Mount Alter, some two miles from the Honeybrook mines, the distance being about 12 miles, and the average breadth less than a mile, with a total area of nearly 10 miles. The formation extends across the Beaver Meadow and Hazleton Railroads, a short distance north of Weatherly, but is entirely devoid of coal; and the probability is that little coal exists east of Beaver Meadow.
The mines in the vicinity of Beaver Meadow were for a considerable period very productive, but being operated in a primitive manner, and much troubled with water, they have been abandoned, though far. from being exhausted. To reopen them will be costly, and no one cares to risk the expense when virgin fields invite them.
Above Beaver Meadow, or between it and Jeansville, are the Coleraine mines, now worked by Messrs. William Carter & Son. At this point the basin is over 1000 yards wide, and contains three subordinate basins or troughs, besides one or two small undulations. The depth of the basins is from 500 to 700 feet.
The following vertical section is a representation of the measures both at Jeansville and at Coleraine, as there is but little difference. At neither place has the Buck Mountain, or B vein, been developed.
The section at Jeansville is nearly similar, as given hel ow_ The foregoing figures are from the north basins at Jeansville. The south basin at Tresckow differs slightly, as shown by the following notes from the data furnished by M. Dagenhardt, of the German Pennsylvania Coal Company, whose information is derived from correct measurements; and, as it differs so widely from the pub lished accounts of the State geologists, and some of our eminent engineers, who denied the existence of the Mammoth at this point, the notes may be interesting.
There are five undulations, or synclinal axes, at Jeansville, across the basin. Farther west these synclinals separate, and form two terminal points to the basin. The three southern troughs continue on west, and form the deep and superior basins at Honeybrook, and the two northern troughs or synclinals form the less developed basins on the old French town property.
At Honeybrook the southern portion of this basin is 3570 feet wide, and is divided by three synclinals or subordinate basins, as before stated. The two southern basins are the widest and deepest. We are scarcely pre pared for the data here developed, or the difference that exists between this locality and those farther east., The total depth of the measures is given by Mr. George Allen, the practical and experienced superintendent, at 580 feet. We think this, however, rather over than under the correct thickness, from the fact that in no other portion of the coal region do we find the distance to be so great from the Mammoth to the conglomerate or lower veins, as here given.
At Hazleton the distance from the Mammoth to the Buck Mountain is from 300 to 400 feet. At Harleigh, in the Black Creek basin, the depth is from 400 to 500 ; but here, at Honeybrook, it is given as over 580 feet. There is room to doubt this, not only from the fact of its being unusual, but because no developments have been made to prove it.
It is singular that only two veins are given in those deep measures below the Mammoth, while in all other portions of the anthracite coal-fields there are three and four. In fact, four veins exist below the Mammoth in every other basin of note except that of Carbondale, and there is no good reason to doubt its existence here, since the ground has not been thoroughly explored, and there is plenty of room for the Buck Mountain vein. The miners of the Beaver Meadow field or basin denominate vein C as the Buck Mountain, which is everywhere else B. Of this fact there can be no doubt. The B, or Buck Mountain, is always the lowest workable vein, lying on the conglomerate, and overlying A, which is in the conglomerate. We think the fairest and best exposition of the lower coal measures has been made in the New Boston basin, which is similar to the Lehigh basins, by J. Louden Beadle, Esq., who has carefully proved each vein and measured their respective distances. A reference to that basin shows a strict con formity with both the Hazleton and Black Creek formations, as they all in turn conform to the measures of the coal-fields generally. There is some doubt on this subject among our mining engineers, but we have forti fied ourselves with facts from so many practical sources that the proof is overwhelming ; that is, of the general existence of four veins below the Mammoth.
We therefore state it as our belief that the same number exist in the Honeybrook basins, where the measures are found in their fullest develop ment; but we do not think the measures below the Mammoth are over 500 feet thick.
The size of the Mammoth at Honeybrook is 35 feet ; the Wharton 10 feet, and C (Buck Mountain?) 8 feet. We propose to give in another portion of this work a full and complete description of the Honeybrook basins, as one of the most interesting localities in the Lehigh region.
We have not intentionally omitted the locality of York town, between Jeansville and Audenreid or Honeybrook.
The chief features of those localities are so much alike that it would be only a repetition to describe each colliery in this connection. We propose to mention the colliery establishments in another portion of the work and under a different connection.