Eckley Miners' Village

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This village is located in Weatherly, Pa.

It is open year round and there is a museum on-site which is open Monday through Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. It is closed certain holidays so be sure and call ahead. For information and driving directions call 570-636-2070.

This was one of hundreds of mining towns built in anthracite regions in Pennsylvania in the nineteenth century. In 1854 work began on the Council Ridge Colliery (colliery=a coal mine) and the Village of Eckley.

The mining company Sharpe, Leisenring and Company, later known as Sharpe, Weiss and Company leased this land to mine for coal. The mine owners provided housing for mine workers and their families. They also owned the stores, schools and churches. By owning the village it gave the mine owners greater control over their workers.

In 1870 the population of this village was over one thousand. Eventually strip mining replaced underground mining. Strip mining was done with steam shovels or drag lines shown in the first 2 photos here. You can see how big these machines were by the person standing next to it in the second photo. As you can tell they were just abandoned in many cases when no longer needed.

In 1971 this site was deeded to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and it is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. These towns were also known as "Patches". In most of the miners homes the outer boards of the house were the only protection from the outside. Crumpled newspaper stuffed between the studs was used as makeshift insulation. In most homes the floors were bare or covered with burlap bags.

In 1968 this Vllage was leased to Paramount Pictures to film the movie The Molly Macquires. The coal breaker seen in the center photo was actually built by Paramount Pictures in the late 60's. It is a replica of the original.

This is another very interesting place to visit for the history of anthracite in Pennsylvania and as far as I am aware it is the only miners village left in Pennsylvania.

Windmills

These windmills are part of the largest wind generation facility in Pennsylvania and is the second largest wind farm east of Mississippi.

There are 43 windmills here on Moosic Mountain in Waymart, Pa. on Route 6. The energy generated from these windmills is used wherever the closest demand exists.

The 43 windmills here generate enough energy to power 15,000 to 19,000 homes. They are massive with a height of 329 feet and the length of the blades is 111 feet.

Pennsylvania produces more megawatts by windmill than any state east of the Mississippi. More than half of the wind turbines in Pennsylvania are in the northeast region of the state.

This farm is located Northeast of Scranton. There is also a wind farm just southeast of Wilkes Barre, Pa. in Bear Creek with 13 windmills and there are 2 windmills in the Humboldt Industrial Park loacated in Hazleton, Pa.