HISTORY OF MINING ON THE DEEP RIVER COAL BED
The Coal Glen Mining Disaster
Farmville, Chatham County, N.C.
May 27, 1925

Historical Timeline of Mining on The Deep River Coal Bed
Extracted from "The Coal Demon of Deep River" by Michael Hetzer, The State Magazine, June 1987.

Pre-
1775
Horton Coal Mine operated near Golf, NC for local needs.
George Wilcox builds forge near Cumnock.
1776Declaration of Independence.
Mining of Deep River Coal near Gulf continues for local needs.
1830Peter Evans changes name of plantation from LaGrange to Egypt and begins mining there.
1851Egypt plantation sold to Brooke Harris.
1852Main shaft of Egypt Mine sunk to depth of 460 feet.
1854Egypt Mine sold to Governors Creek steam and Transportation Co.
Slack-water navigation route construction begun.
Railway from Fayetteville to Egypt begun.
1859Harper's Ferry.
1861Lincoln Inaugurated; Civil War begins.
Deep River Coal shipped by rail to Fayetteville -- used to power Confederate Navy and blockade runners.
1865Lee surrenders at Appomattox.
1870Egypt Mine closes; bankrupt.
1873Slack-water navigation begins on Deep River.
Iron ore shipped from Buckhorn to Endor Iron Furnace.
1875-
1876
Dams and locks fail into disrepair on Deep River and slack-water navigation ends.
1888Egypt Mine reopened by Egypt Coal Company; mine enters boom years.
1895Mine explosion kills 46.
1900Mine explosion kills 26.
1902Egypt Coal Co. declares bankruptcy; mine closes.
1915Egypt Mine reopened by Norfolk Southern Railroad to supply railroad only; renamed Cumnock after Scottish mining town in hope of breaking Egypt coal curse.
1921Carolina Coal Company formed to create Coal Glen Mine.
1922Egypt Mine closed after repeated flooding by Deep River.
Coal Glen Mine shaft sunk.
1925Coal Glen Mine disaster; 53 miners killed.
1929Stock Market Crash.
1930Carolina Coal Company declares bankruptcy; Coal Glen Mine closed.
1941Bombing of Pearl Harbor.
1943Egypt Mine entered; 25 tons of scrap metal retrieved for war effort; reflooded.
1947Raleigh Mining Company reopens Coal Glen Mine.
1950100 tons/day produced in Coal Glen Mine.
1951Coal Glen Mine closed.
1987Strip mining by Chatham Coal Co. to begin on Deep River Coal Bed.


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