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. The eventual connection with the larger, cross-state railroad Sunbury & Erie, later called the Philadelphia & Erie and eventually the Pennsylvania Railroad was completed into Ridgway on October 17, 1864. The officers of the Shawmut and Ridgway Corporation were: Henry Souther of Ridgway -President, Albert Welles – Secretary, Joseph A. Veazic of Boston – Treasurer and Superintendent. The new railroad was officially sworn and subscribed to on December 15, 1864 and began operation on January 1, 1865. When originally documented in December, 1864 the length of the railroad was 19 miles with 12 miles of track having been laid and not inclusive of the sidings that eventually would be built.
The site of Shawmut is a broad valley on the headwaters of the Clarion river. Mead Run flows through the valley, as pretty a stream as the eye of a lover of nature would care to see.
When this railroad came into Elk County, Joseph Veazic of Boston set about to enlist some Eastern capital in a measure that would have made all the backers rich. He presented the fact that Elk County was a bed of excellent soft coal. The new Sunbury & Erie Railroad, later the Philadelphia & Erie and eventually the Pennsylvania Railroad passed within 12 miles of the deposit. Eastern men, with a knowledge of Eastern markets, by buying the lands cheap and putting the coal in the markets of the East and elsewhere, should be able to make a mint of money. Freight traffic on the Sunbury & Erie he had figured out to be a certainty. The plans for this coal deposit had no flaws in it that were apparent in 1861 when Mr. Veazic sold the idea to the investors.
The Shawmut & Ridgway Railroad was organized in 1861 to connect the mines of the Shawmut Coal Company at the head of Mead Run to the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad about one mile east of Ridgway. The Shawmut & Ridgway climbed out of the Elk Creek Valley east of Ridgway via five switchbacks, then pushed south along Boot Jack Mountain and into the Mead Run Valley north of Drummond. It was the first railroad built into the Little Toby Valley, more than 20 years before any railroad reached Brockwayville, eventually known as Brockway beginning in 1925.
An 1867 report states that 300 to 400 people worked the railroad, mines, coke works, and a sawmill. There were 65 dwellings, a store, a post office, and a Roman Catholic church. This village is now referred to as Old Shawmut. Unfortunately, the venture failed due to the inefficiency of getting the coal down the five switchbacks and the inferior quality of the coal mined. The village was abandoned as new coal mines opened further south along Mead Run and as railroads entered the valley from Brockport.
Parts of the grade were recycled as the Mead & Laurel Run logging railroad associated with the Cartwright Lumber Company sawmill at Horton City owned by Burr Cartwright. Connections also existed with the William Henry Hyde & Co. logging railroad on Gallagher Run in Ridgway, and even the Frank Thompson logging railroad along Island Run. Most of the mainline of the grade still exists, and it is most visible to the west of U.S. 219 between German Settlement Road and Boot Jack (approximately 15 miles from the Maple Shade Mansion). Another amazing section of this historic railroad is the series of switchbacks that crisscross down the ridge west of the Mohan Run Valley and connected with the Philadelphia & Erie Railroad in 1864.
Exploring the remains of this historic early railroad you will find that given its age the grade is in amazing shape and visually stunning in some areas given that all the work was completed without the use of mechanized equipment. There are areas that could use some work especially on the switchbacks to remove fallen trees to make the hiking of this railroad grade much more enjoyable. Should you decide to hike the grade in its entirety, make sure you wear waterproof boots since the number of springs on its course is truly amazing.
