Buck Mountain Coal Co. - 1880 dated Pennsylvania Mining Stock Certificate
Inv# MS1127 Stock
Great vignettes on this Stock printed by Lehman and Bolton, Phila. Rare!
The Buck Mountain Coal Company was established on June 16, 1836, following the discovery of a rich anthracite coal vein by Asa Lansford Foster near the border of Carbon and Luzerne Counties, Pennsylvania. To transport its product to market, the company devised a unique 4.3-mile gravity railroad that utilized the natural terrain to descend towards the Lehigh Navigation Canal at Rockport. This innovative system featured two inclined planes and a 135-foot tunnel carved through a bluff. The first load of coal was successfully shipped in November 1840, marking the commencement of a significant operation that would eventually yield nearly 3.5 million tons of anthracite.
The company’s original transportation infrastructure remained operational for 22 years until a catastrophic flood on June 4, 1862, destroyed the Upper Division of the Lehigh Canal. For the subsequent two decades, the company shifted its shipping to the Hazleton Railroad before ultimately ceasing operations in November 1883 due to the depletion of accessible coal supplies. Beyond its industrial output, the company played a pivotal role in establishing the village of Buck Mountain as a typical “company town.” In this company town, the company owned most of the property and exerted considerable control over the lives of its workers. Today, the abandoned Buck Mountain Gravity Railroad Tunnel in Lehigh Gorge State Park stands as a historical monument, preserving the legacy of this early era in Pennsylvania’s coal and rail history.
A stock certificate is issued by businesses, usually companies. A stock is part of the permanent finance of a business. Normally, they are never repaid, and the investor can recover his/her money only by selling to another investor. Most stocks, or also called shares, earn dividends, at the business's discretion, depending on how well it has traded. A stockholder or shareholder is a part-owner of the business that issued the stock certificates.
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