Guide to the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records NMAH.AC.0071 Jane Odom, Robert Ageton, and Alison Oswald Archives Center, National Museum of American History P.O. Box 37012 Suite 1100, MRC 601 Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 [email protected] http://americanhistory.si.edu/archives Table of Contents Collection Overview ........................................................................................................ 1 Administrative Information .............................................................................................. 1 Biographical / Historical.................................................................................................... 2 Arrangement..................................................................................................................... 3 Scope and Contents........................................................................................................ 2 Names and Subjects ...................................................................................................... 4 Container Listing ............................................................................................................. 5 Series 1: Annual Reports, 1826-1961, undated (bulk 1913-1929)........................... 5 Series 2: Other Reports, 1912 - 1912, 1936 - 1936, 1919 - 1919, 1949 - 1953, 1944 - 1944....................................................................................................................... 9 Series 3: Revenue Statements, 1913 - 1949......................................................... 10 Series 4: Ledgers, 1874 - 1947............................................................................. 12 Series 5: Inventories, 1877 - 1945......................................................................... 14 Series 6: Financial Forecasts, 1949 - 1949, 1951 - 1953...................................... 18 Series 7: Trial Balance Books, 1920 - 1942.......................................................... 19 Series 8: Journals, 1874 - 1945............................................................................. 20 Series 9: Record of Vouchers, 1882 - 1906........................................................... 23 Series 10: Records of Bills Payable and Collectibles, 1907 - 1948........................ 24 Series 11: Individual Ledgers, 1904 - 1908, 1919 - 1936, 1941 - 1945................. 26 Series 12: Records of Improvements and Special Projects, 1907 - 1913, 1920 - 1926........................................................................................................................ 27 Series 13: Records of Coal Production, 1856 - 1952............................................ 28 Series 14: Records of Cost of Coal Mining and Preparation, 1894 - 1954............. 29 Series 15: Comparative Statistical and Cost Data on Coal Mining and Preparation, 1873 - 1939............................................................................................................ 31 Series 16: Payroll Records, 1882 - 1951............................................................... 34 Series 17: Employee Compensation, 1870 - 1954................................................ 39 Series 18: Contracts, Agreements and Leases, 1879 - 1931................................ 40 Series 19: Printed Materials Relating to the Anthracite Industry, 1815 - 1954........ 74 Series 20: Miscellaneous Materials, 1874 - 1966.................................................. 77 Series 21: Oversize Materials, 1829 - 1945........................................................... 81 Series 22: Photographs, 1929 - 1929, 1829 - 1829............................................... 82 Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records NMAH.AC.0071 Collection Overview Repository: Archives Center, National Museum of American History Title: Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records Identifier: NMAH.AC.0071 Date: 1815-1966 Extent: 72 Cubic feet (245 boxes, 1 map folder) Creator: Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Language: English . Administrative Information Acquisition Information Donated by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, Pennsylvania. Provenance Collection transferred from the Division of Extractive Industries (now the Division of Work and Industry) to the Archives Center, October 1983. Related Materials Materials at Other Organizations Pennsylvania State Archives Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records, 1792-1978 Penn State University Libraries Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records, 1835-1913 Lehigh University Special Collections Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company collection, 1826-1913 Processing Information Collection processed by Jane Odom and Robert Ageton; revised Alison Oswald, archivist, 2016. Preferred Citation The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Page 1 of 82 Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records NMAH.AC.0071 Restrictions Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at [email protected] or 202-633-3270. Conditions Governing Use Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions. Biographical / Historical The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company was formed on April 21, 1820 by the merger of the Lehigh Navigation Company and the Lehigh Coal Company. Both predecessor companies and the new company were organized by Josiah White, Erskine Hazard, and George F. Hauto. The LCNC was reorganized in 1821 and incorporated by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1822. The company was involved in anthracite mining and transportation, initially, they made the Lehigh River navigable as a means of getting their coal to Easton and then to Philadelphia via the Delaware River. Later, through canal construction, railway construction and agreements with existing railroads, the company delivered its product to New York, New England, and elsewhere. In the 1820s, LCNC laid rails from its mines to the river landing at Mauch Chunk and also began its railroad from Summit Hill, in the late 1820s, construction of the Lehigh Canal was completed from Mauch Chunk to Easton. Between 1836 and 1838 the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad was completed from the northern anthracite field, connecting Wilkes Barre to White Haven. In 1840, the first successful iron furnace blast was made with Lehigh coal, in 1844, the company began its first important underground mining. In the 1860s and 1870s, the company completed a railroad from Wilkes Barre to Easton, and the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad was leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey, thereby guaranteeing LCNC access to New York. Early in the twentieth century, the New England area was opened to LCNC through railroad construction. In 1930 the Lehigh Navigation Coal Company was founded essentially as a holding company for LCNC and other companies, and other organizational changes were made. The company went out of business in 1965. Scope and Contents This collection consists of records primarily of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Additionally, there are records of the Lehigh Navigation Coal Company and subsidiary companies including the Alliance Coal Mining Company. These records mostly describe anthracite mining in the vicinity of Mauch Chuck and Summit Hill, Pennsylvania. Also included is a smaller amount of material on railroad, canal, and river navigation work of LCNC. Included are annual reports, 1913-1949, and a few other reports, 1912-1953. There are numerous types of fiscal records such as revenue statements, 1913-1949; ledgers, 1874-1906; financial forecasts, 1949-1953; trial balance books, 1920-1942; journals, 1874-1945; records of vouchers, 1882-1906; records of bills payable, 1907-1948; and individual ledgers, 1904-1944. Also included are records of coal Page 2 of 82 Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company Records NMAH.AC.0071 production, 1900-1906; records of cost of coal mining and preparation, 1890-1954; and comparative statistical and cost data on coal mining and preparation, 1920-1939. In addition to fiscal records and records relating to coal production, there are inventories, 1898-1947 and records of improvements and special projects, 1909-1926. Also, there is a large group of payroll records, 1894-1907, and other records relating to employee compensation, 1870-1954. Arrangement This collection is organized into twenty-two series. Series 1: Annual Reports, 1826-1961 Series 2: Other Reports, 1912-1953 Series 3: Revenue Statements, 1913-1949 Series 4: Ledgers, 1874-1947 Series 5: Inventories, 1877-1945 Series 6: Financial Forecasts, 1949; 1951-1953 Series 7: Trial Balance Books, 1920-1942 Series 8: Journals, 1874-1945 Series 9: Record of Vouchers, 1882-1906 Series 10: Records of Bills Payable and Collectibles, 1907-1948 Series 11: Individual Ledgers, 1904-1908; 1919-1936; 1941-1945 Series 12: Records of Improvements and Special Projects, 1907-1913; 1920-1926 Series 13: Records of Coal Production, 1856-1952 Series 14: Records of Costs of Coal Mining and Preparation, 1890-1907; 1894-1954 Series 15: Comparative Statistical and Cost Data on Coal Mining and Preparation, 1873-1939 Series 16: Payroll Records, 1882-1951 Series 17: Employee Compensation, 1870-1954 Series 18: Contracts, Agreements and Leases, 1879-1931 Series 19: Printed Materials Relating