Pittsburgh Coal Company

Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Coal mining
Founded	1899
Founder	Andrew W. Mellon, Henry W. Oliver, Henry Clay Frick
Defunct	1945
Fate	Merged into Consolidation Coal Company
Headquarters	Pittsburgh , United States
Area served	Pittsburgh Coalfield, Pennsylvania
Key people	Mellon family (owners)
Products	Bituminous coal

The Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Company was a bituminous coal mining enterprise headquartered in Pittsburgh and under the control of the Mellon family. Its mining operations were situated within the Pittsburgh Coalfield, including sites at Becks Run and Horning, Pennsylvania. The company was distinctive for employing African-American miners during a period when such practices were rare in Pennsylvania.

History

Founded as a New Jersey corporation in 1899 by prominent Pittsburgh industrialists including Andrew W. Mellon, Henry W. Oliver, and Henry Clay Frick, Pittsburgh Terminal Coal brought together over 80 coal businesses along with extensive land holdings adjacent to the Monongahela River. Despite its incorporation in New Jersey, all its mining activities were confined to the Pittsburgh area.

Throughout the early 1900s, the company operated multiple mining sites across Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It was also responsible for managing the Darr Mine located in Westmoreland County.

In 1915, Pittsburgh Terminal Coal combined with the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company. Subsequently, in 1945, it merged into the Consolidation Coal Company, which was controlled by the Rockefeller interests.

Railroads

At its inception, Pittsburgh Terminal Coal Company owned six feeder railroads. Among these was the Coal Hill Coal Railroad, a narrow gauge line approximately long, which it operated until selling to the Pittsburgh and Castle Shannon Railroad in 1871; this purchaser extended the railroad's reach. Additionally, the company gained control of the Montour Railroad in 1901.

Labor relations

Following the 1929 death of union worker John Barcoski—who died after being assaulted by three Coal and Iron Police officers—the company provided compensation. Pittsburgh Terminal Coal also encountered labor conflicts involving John L. Lewis and the United Mine Workers union, emblematic of wider industrial disputes within coal mining during that period.