sharon's blog | Maple Shade Mansion

The Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal Company

The Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal Company was incorporated as the Rochester and Pittsburgh Coal and Iron Company in 1881 in Indiana, PA, by the Adrian Iselin family, Swiss investment bankers from New York City. The company's first mines were located in Jefferson County, PA, in an area known as the Saw Mill Run Valley. These mines, including the Walston Mine which, by 1885, was using much of the coal it produced to make coke, boasted the longest string of coke ovens in the world. Five hundred employees worked in the ovens alone.

The History of Shawmut's Rise and Fall

Thanks in large part to entrepreneur Joseph Veazic of Boston who elicited the help from wealthy and influential East Coast families to invest in the lands in and around Shawmut, nearly ten square miles of coal lands were purchased from Daniel Kingsbury. As explorations commenced, coal was found in all quarters of the purchase. High hills rose above the seams, affording good cover and hollows opened out in all directions, permitting drifts to be opened to mine coal at the best advantage. Everything was so encouraging that the town was platted in 1861.

The Majestic Elk

Elk viewing is a popular pastime drawing visitors from all over Pennsylvania, out-of-state, and locals alike. And fortunately, the “Elk Capitol of Pennsylvania” or Benezette is a short drive from the Maple Shade Mansion!

The History of the Shawmut & Ridgway Railroad 1861-1869

This article of local history has been an amazing adventure undertaken by Bob Imhof of the Elk County Historical Society and Rob Keith of the Brockway Historical Society over a period of several years. This short narrative documents the story of what is likely the first common-carrier railroad surveyed in Elk County beginning in 1861 to provide an outlet for coal mined in the area around the community of Shawmut.