Mid-Lothian Mines Park

The Grove Shaft (c. 1911)

The Grove Shaft (2017)

Name of the Site — Mid-Lothian Mines Park

Date of Construction — 1804

Reason for construction — Coal was first discovered in Chesterfield during the early 1700’s near Chesterfield County Seal Manakin Town. Later, several French Huguenot families such as the Trabues, Salles, Ammonettes and DuVals operated coal pits near Falling Creek and the James River. Eventually, mine workers settled in the area of Midlothian, seeking the opportunity for employment in Chesterfield County’s coal pits. By the 1750s, a number of private coal pits were operating on a large scale. Miners immigrated to Chesterfield from many different countries, including the Heths, who were English investors, and eventually opened coal pits in Chesterfield county. The Wooldridge family was among the first to undertake coal mining in the Midlothian area and it was likely that the mining community got its name from them.

Brief history of the site — Members of the Wooldridge family had been major producers of Chesterfield county coal since the late 1700’s. by the 1830’s, the official ‘Wooldridge Company’ had been created, taking up 404 acres on the south side of the Midlothian Turnpike, adjoining several other coal pits that had been worked in prior times. Using the latest mining technology, they implemented a ‘steam engine’ to raise the coal and water of their pits. The Wooldridge mines were said to have produced around 200 tons of coal per day. During the mid-1830’s, the Wooldridge's founded the Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Company. It was chartered in 1835 and went on to become the largest and most successful mining organization in the region. The newly formed company bought the equipment of Wooldridge Company, including engines, ropes, buildings, railroads, cranes, and slate cars. The location of the Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Company fostered its prosperity, and through a series of real estate acquisitions, this Company soon accumulated a total of 1,585 acres. These mining facilities employed a large number of men (both black and white), whose pay infused a sizable sum of money into the local economy. Sadly, effects of the Civil War quickly reached Richmond, and most of the coal mines collapsed, ending the ever-successful business of coal mining in Virginia.

Brief history of the surrounding area  — During the 1850s, Chesterfield County’s coal mines reached the pinnacle of their importance, thanks to modernized production techniques. Industrial development in the northern United States provided markets for Chesterfield coal, as did local manufactories such as the Bellona Foundry, established in 1810. There were seven or eight major mines in the Midlothian area by 1835, where production reached an estimated 75,000 tons of coal annually. The coal mining industry prospered during the 1840’s and 50’s and it was during these decades that Midlothian grew into one of the largest settlements in Chesterfield County. Henry Howe, who visited the Midlothian mines in the summer of 1843, described not only their productiveness, but the strangeness of the underground labyrinths in which the miners worked. During the mid-1850’s, the mines in the Midlothian area endured a series of explosions that claimed many lives and caused the earth to shake over a radius of several miles. Such incidents caused a mass departure of workers from the Midlothian mines; due to the frequent occurrence of cave-ins upon them. After the Civil War, coal production in Chesterfield fell off sharply and the Midlothian coal mines never again attained its level of previous success. In 1882, when an explosion at Grove Shaft led to the loss of 32 lives (a tragedy that was followed by an embezzlement scandal involving the company’s superintendent), the last large scale mining operation in Midlothian was shut down. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, efforts were made to revive Chesterfield’s mining industry, but they never attained success. During the 1880’s the population of Midlothian declined significantly; many residents of Midlothian fled, especially African Americans. Suburban growth came to the area after World War II, resulting in a large amount of new construction.

What about the site has changed?  — During the Civil War, the Midlothian coal pits provided critical support to the Confederate war industry. As a result of its heavy support, the mines were practically demolished because of cannons, bombs, and many other effects of the war. Even before the war, however, the mine encountered numerous attacks: in the fall of 1839, a vein of coal 36 feet thick was struck in the Pump Shaft at a level of 716 feet. In 1842, the Pump Shaft caught fire and in 1855, a serious explosion occurred, resulting in the death of 55 men. At that time, the lower part of the Pump Shaft mine, which was accessed by means of an incline, was flooded, thanks to an influx of water from the Chesterfield Coal and Iron Mining Company’s mines. Regarding a change in structure, initially, four shafts were sunk by the Mid-Lothian Coal Mining Company in an area that included 84 acres: the old Pump Shaft, the Middle Shaft, the Wood Shaft, and the Grove Shaft. In April, 1873, part of the Grove Shaft was cleaned out and re-timbered; new borings were made, rock tunnels were driven, air returns were reconstructed, and a new engine house was made. By 1876, a rail-road spur was built, connecting the mines to the Richmond and Danville Railroad’s main line.

What about the surrounding area has changed? —  After the Civil War, coal production in Virginia as a whole fell off sharply and most coal mines never again became a truly successful business enterprise. During the 1880’s the population of Midlothian declined significantly. A map of Chesterfield County that was produced by J. E. LaPrade (1888) reveals that in 1923, when Midlothian’s mining industry folded completely and its lumber mills closed, many residents of Midlothian moved away, especially blacks. Suburban growth came to the area after World War II, resulting in a proliferation of new construction.

Reflection (what have you learned from this project?) — From this project, I have learned how the simplest places may contain years and years of history; despite having gone to this mine for years, since I was a young kid, I never knew the historical significance it held. This site has endured years of turmoil and surrounding conflict, and still stands. Additionally, this site has undergone major physical changes, so it is almost completely unrecognizable compared to what it looked like in 1911.

Sources of information — 

LaPrade, Joseph Edwards, “1888 Map of Chesterfield County.” Virginia Division of Historic Landmarks.
       In Map of Chesterfield, Va. New York: Library of Congress, 1903. https://www.loc.gov/item/
       2012592116/.

McCartney, Martha W. "Historical Overview of the Midlothian Coal Mining Company 

      Tract." Midlomines. Last modified August 2012. Accessed February 13, 2017. 

       http://www.midlomines.org/.

Oast, Jennifer. Institutional Slavery: Slaveholding Churches, Schools, Colleges, and Businesses in
     Virginia, 1680–1860. N.p.: New York: Cambridge University Press , 19 September 2016. https://
      books.google.com/books?id=Z74wCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA239&dq=mid-lothian+mines+park&hl.

Author: Lauren Zimmermann