Mining for history
Midlothian park preserves county's coal mining past
By Susan Nienow STAFF WRITER

The granite elevator building at Mid-Lothian Mines Park is a reminder of the county's coal mining history.

Hidden amidst the residential homes just off Woolridge Road near Midlothian Turnpike is a halfmile linear park that preserves the remains of the Grove Shaft coal mine operation.

When The Grove housing development was built, developer Tom Gardner, who had a longtime interest in the mines, gave the county the land for Mid-Lothian Mines Park. The area was mined for coal from the mid-1830s until 1923 when the mining industry closed for good in Chesterfield County.

"There is a huge story to be told about the mines," said Jerry Wilkes, geologist with the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME). But, those who arrive at Mid-Lothian Mines Park expecting historical markers to explain what they are seeing will be disappointed.

Over the past two years two sets of temporary text only signs have been destroyed by normal wear and tear, leaving visitors to wonder what the "holes" and the granite block remains once were. While five permanent signs are finished in draft form, they are still being edited and approved by author Bettie Weaver, the Mid-Lothian Mines and Railroad Foundation and the county's public affairs department, explained local historian Dennis Farmer.

Janella Smith takes a walk at Mid-Lothian Mines Park.

The discovery of coal in the Richmond Basin Coalfield in 1699 shaped the history of Chesterfield. The Richmond Basin Coalfield is approximately 33 miles long and 5-10 miles wide in parts of Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Goochland, Powhatan and Amelia counties.

In Chesterfield, it runs through Midlothian down to Winterpock and up to Manakin. A community grew up around the mines, which began as surface mines that supplied coal to local settlers for fuel.

Slaves, as well as whites and free blacks, worked in the mines.

The coal industry grew as the ability to transport coal longer distances increased. The county's first railroad, a 13-mile-long muleand gravity powered line, began operating in 1831 between the Midlothian coal mines, and the wharves located in Manchester.

Coal mining companies prospered with the invention of the steam-powered locomotive. And, it was the mines that spurred development of a rail system in Chesterfield.

By the 1830s, there were seven or eight major mines in the Midlothian area. Miners from England, Scotland and Wales were brought over to improve mine operations.

Midlothian's name can be traced back to two miner brothers from the Wooldridge family who moved to the area after emigrating from Scotland. Since one brother was originally from the town East Lothian and the other from West Lothian, they eventually named their new home Midlothian.

The Wooldridge family founded the Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Company the mid-1830s and sank four shafts: the Pump, Middle, Wood and Grove.

During the Civil War, trainloads of coal were sent to the Tredegar Iron Works for casting cannons for the Confederacy.

The decline of coal mining in Chesterfield began after the Civil War when demand dropped, and the economic picture was bleak. Mines opened in Appalachia with the latest technology producing cleaner-burning anthracite coal. This, combined with several mine explosions and accidents, led to the closing of the Midlothian mines in 1923. The Grove Shaft was about 750 feet deep when the mine was finally shut down.

But the remnants of Chesterfield's coal mining days are still evident at Mid-Lothian Mines Park.

Park visitors may walk along a raised path of coal and slate shards - though it requires climbing down to a stream bed, crossing it and climbing up the other side - or take the more civilized, but less challenging, gravel path.

The path was built up, both by mine owners and the county, to keep it from flooding.

During late afternoons, there's usually a light but steady traffic of walkers, joggers and dog walkers enjoying the park.

Toward the far end of the path behind a chain link fence are the granite block ruins of the tall elevator building that once housed the forced draft system for the Grove Shaft mine. A large wooden wheel fit within the round keyhole-shaped structure. The tunnel on the right is still visible and was used to force air into the shaft. Farmer noted that it has been sealed.

According to Jeffrey O'Dell's 1983 book, "Chesterfield County: Early Architecture and Historic Sites," the only surviving structure associated with coal mining in Chesterfield is the main building at the Grove Shaft.

Additional ruins are visible near the end of the path but it is not clear what they once were, said Farmer. There is speculation that it was a sorting tower where loads of coal were taken to the top of the tower and dumped. The granite blocks came from the James River, probably deadheaded in coal wagons.

When the area was being mined, there were several small wooden buildings near the elevator building that housed the field office and repair shop, although there's no trace of those now.

Stables for the mules were down in the mine itself. Though mules were commonly used both in the mines and on the surface to haul coal, the only remaining evidence is an occasional shoe found in the mining areas of the county, explained Farmer.

The ground on either side of the path is still very rough and shows evidence of slag hills, pits and at least one vertical shaft probably used for ventilation.

It is hoped that someday archeologists can identify the ruins in the park, said Farmer.