California may not be the first state that comes to mind when contemplating coal mining, yet coal was a critical energy resource for the fledgling state. The Mount Diablo Coalfield in California’s east bay produced over four million tons of coal between 1850 and 1906. Today, it is a 6,000-acre park encompassing 5 ghost towns and twelve closed coal mines. Before rail spanned…
Tag: hike
Dunlap Coke Ovens
Deep in the Sequatchie Valley, Tennessee is a collection of industrial coke ovens from the turn of the 20th century. History Coke ovens were used to convert the coal mined in nearby Fredonia Mountain into industrial coke used in smelting iron ore. The Industrial Revolution and the steel industry drove a demand for pig iron; and coke was an integral…