The history of coal mining in the United States starts with the first commercial use in 1701, within the Manakin-Sabot area of Richmond, Virginia.Monitoring and Sampling Approaches to Assess Underground Coal Mine Dust Exposures, 2018, National Academies Press (US), Appendix E. Coal was the dominant power source in the late 19th century and the early 20th century, and although in rapid decline it remains a significant source of energy in 2025.
Coal became the largest source of energy in the 1880s, when it overtook wood, and remained the largest source until the early 1950s, when coal was exceeded by petroleum. Coal provided more than half of the nation's energy from the 1880s to the 1940s, and from 1906 to 1920 provided more than three-quarters of US energy.Historical Statistics of the United States, 1957, US Department of Commerce, p.355.
19th century At the start of the 19th century, coal mining was almost all bituminous coal. In 1810, 176,000 short tons of bituminous coal, and 2,000 tons of anthracite coal, were mined in the United States. American coal mining grew rapidly in the early 1820s, doubling or tripling every decade. Anthracite mining overtook bituminous coal mining in the 1840s; from 1843 through 1868, more anthracite was mined than bituminous coal. But the more limited deposits of anthracite could not satisfy the increasing demand for coal; from 1869, bituminous coal was the dominant grade of coal mined.Historical Statistics of the United States, 1957, US Department of Commerce. Another reason for the decline in anthracite was the decline in its use in iron smelting, where it was displaced by coke in blast furnaces after the Civil War. Coke stayed hard and porous and was able to support the heavy column of ore and fuel in the large blast furnaces it enabled.
Anthracite (or "hard" coal) exploitation began before the War of 1812 spurred by the interest and opportunism of the Wurt brothers of Philadelphia. Burning clean and smokeless, anthracite became the preferred fuel in cities, replacing wood by about 1850, the same pattern seen in Europe. The East became deforested, driving up price of fuel wood. Anthracite from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Coal Region and later from West Virginia was valued for household use because it burns cleanly with little ash. It was also used in the early foundries of Philadelphia, New York, Newark and Allentown. The rich Pennsylvania anthracite fields were close to the big eastern cities, and nearly every major railroad in the Eastern United States such as the Reading Railroad, Lehigh & Erie, Central Railroad of New Jersey, Pennsylvania Railroad and Delaware and Hudson Railroad, extended lines into the anthracite fields. Many railroads began as mining company shortline railroads. By 1840, annual hard coal output had passed the million-short ton mark, and then quadrupled by 1850, and as it grew it pushed railroad construction, mining and steel production in a synergistic symbiosis.
In the mid-century Pittsburgh was the principal market. After 1850, soft coal, which is cheaper but dirtier, came into demand for railway locomotives and stationary steam engines, and was used to make coke for steel after 1870.* Frederick Moore Binder, Coal Age Empire: Pennsylvania Coal and Its Utilization to 1860. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1974. Political factors According to Sean Adams, Washington viewed the domestic coal trade as crucial to the country's future.Sean P. Adams, Old Dominion, Industrial Commonwealth: Coal, Politics, and Economy in Antebellum America (JHU Press, 2004). Congress implemented policies to encourage its growth, including protecting American colliers from foreign competition through tariffs. State governments also supported the development of coal mining, commissioning geological surveys to identify viable coal seams and marking valuable mineral deposits for entrepreneurs. These interventions led to the rapid development of coal mining in the antebellum period. Domestic production eventually dominated American coal markets and the country becoming a net exporter of coal in the 1870s. Sean Adams, "Energy and politics," in Michael Kazin, ed., The concise Princeton Encyclopedia of American political history (2011) p. 208.
State governments State governments, protected by federal laws, supported the growth of coal mining during the antebellum period. Pennsylvania exempted anthracite coal from taxes, promoted its use in the iron industry, and encouraged competition between different transport companies to keep prices low. Many states also commissioned geological surveys to find new coalfields and mineral deposits, with Pennsylvania and Illinois specifically targeting coalfields. State geologists found and surveyed the coalfields, but private firms were responsible for mining and selling the coal. Pennsylvania led the way in coal production, accounting for three-fourths of U.S. production by 1850. Adams, "Energy and politics," p. 208. Late 19th century In the late 19th century, railroad companies became increasingly powerful and played a significant role in the energy policy, particularly in the anthracite coal industry. The railroads purchased coal lands and set prices to maintain their power, while attempts by state and federal authorities to regulate the industry were largely ineffective. The focus of policy makers was on maintaining high production levels and bringing new coalfields into production, as evidenced by the creation of the United States Geological Survey in 1879 to catalog valuable mineral resources. Adams, "Energy and politics," p. 208. Labor issues By the late 19th century, the relationship between labor and capital in energy production, particularly in coal mining, became a concern for policy makers. Prior to the Civil War, coal mining was done on a small scale, and skilled miners acted as independent contractors. However, the corporate reorganization of coalfields led to pressure on firms to increase production and cut costs. This resulted in mine operators seeking to use the autonomy of miners for their own benefit, such as pressing tonnage rates down, docking miners for sending up coal with too many impurities, and paying miners in scrip rather than cash. Small-scale unions formed in individual coalfields and struck for higher wages, but colliers insisted on the ability to control wages and fought to keep unions from organizing in American coalfields. In 1890, a national trade union, the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), was established, and for the next half century, the UMWA struggled to win collective bargaining rights in the nation’s coal mines. Adams, "Energy and politics," p. 209.William Graebner, "Great expectations: The search for order in bituminous coal, 1890–1917." Business History Review 48.1 (1974): 49-72.
Early 20th century During the early twentieth century, federal authorities became involved in regulating the coal trade due to labor disputes and attempts by railroad operators to manipulate prices. Railroads in the early 20th century, such as the New York Central Railroad, often operated captive mining companies like the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Corporation to secure steady coal supplies essential for steam locomotive operation. The great Coal strike of 1902 in the anthracite fields threatened to cut off fuel for millions of homes and businesses. This led to President Theodore Roosevelt's intervention and his declaration of a "square deal" between labor and management. While this did not mandate collective bargaining rights, it did offer some governmental oversight. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against anthracite railroads in 1908, and the United States Bureau of Mines was created in 1910 to enforce safety regulations. Federal intervention aimed to maintain high levels of coal production while providing some protection for workers. Adams, "Energy and politics," p. 209.Joe Gowaskie, "John Mitchell and the anthracite mine workers: Leadership conservatism and rank‐and‐file militancy." Labor History 27.1 (1985): 54-83.
Strikes were very common, the rhetoric employed about exploitation was effective in mobilizing strikers. Detailed analysis of historical data by Price Fishback shows that mining wages were as high, if not higher, than those in manufacturing industry; that the prices in company stores were rarely higher than those in independent stores; and that miners who were dissatisfied with working conditions in a particular mining camp could either "vote with their feet" by migrating elsewhere or use the "voice" of collective union action to resist the threatened abuse.Price V. Fishback, Soft Coal, Hard Choices: The Economic Welfare of Bituminous Coal Miners, 1890-1930 (1992)
Total coal output soared until 1918; before 1890, it doubled every ten years, going from 8.4 million short tons in 1850 to 40 million in 1870, 270 million in 1900, and peaking at 680 million short tons in 1918. New soft coal fields opened in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, as well as West Virginia, Kentucky and Alabama. The Great Depression of the 1930s lowered the demand to 360 million short tons in 1932.Bruce C. Netschert and Sam H. Schurr, Energy in the American Economy, 1850-1975: An Economic Study of Its History and prospects.
Early 21st century By 2014, coal mining had largely shifted to open-pit mines in Wyoming, and there were only 60,000 active coal miners. The UMW had only 35,000 members, of whom 20,000 were working miners, chiefly in the remaining underground mines in Kentucky and West Virginia. By contrast, it had 800,000 members in the late 1930s. However, it remains responsible for pensions and medical benefits for 40,000 retired miners, and for 50,000 spouses and dependents.Kris Maher, "Mine Workers Union Shrinks but Boss Fights On," Wall Street Journal, January 9, 2014, p B1
The New York Times in 2015 reports how the American coal industry has been struggling due to new environmental regulations, attacks by activists, collapsing coal prices and the rise of cheap alternative fuels. The presidency of Barack Obama introduced rules from the Environmental Protection Agency that limit power plant carbon emissions which will accelerate a shift from coal to natural gas and other alternatives. Several major coal companies have filed for bankruptcy protection, indicating that the future of other large coal companies may be uncertain.James B. Stewart, "King Coal, Long Besieged, Is Deposed by the Market," The New York Times (Aug. 6, 2015)
Mining history by state
Pennsylvania The first anthracite coal was mined in 1768 by Obadiah Gore, in the Wyoming Valley (Kingston, PA). The Susquehanna Company was an expedition that came into the Wyoming Valley from Connecticut and established the first 5 towns: Pittston, Plymouth, Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke (later Hanover), and Forty Fort (later Kingston). Nicholas Scull, a surveyor, issued a map in Philadelphia in 1770 that showed the location of 5 coal mines all in Schuylkill County: York Farm (Pottsville), near Silverton Junction, near Llewellyn, and 2 more around Ashland. By 1807, fifty tons of coal was being sold by the Smith Brothers out of Plymouth, Pennsylvania. They exported it via barge on the Susquehanna River to Columbia, PA (Lancaster County). In February 1808, Wilkes-Barre resident, Jesse Fell, experimented with a successful open-air grate that kept anthracite burning in low-yield household fires. The Smiths seized on Fell's discovery and returned to Columbia with more coal and instructions for local blacksmiths on preparing the grates.