Mayfield (Alverton No. 2) and Carolyn/Peerless Coke Works

Today was a nice, sunny break in the weather and I was also off work. Bonus! I headed over to Alverton to explore a couple more difficult to get to coke plants. Alverton is a historically rich area as far as coal and coke production. We've found ourselves here a good many times over the past few years. 

 

These two coke plants are both in really bad condition with only a fraction of the ovens remaining. Mayfield (Alverton No. 2) is a very old coke plant dating back to ca. 1878. It was a McClure plant and was renamed Alverton No. 2 in 1899. It contained 55 ovens up until 1890 and after that is listed as having 104. We know that Frick absorbed McClure in 1895 so after this, it kept the name McClure but must have been controlled by Frick. It is not listed as a Frick plant until 1901. I am also finding no mentions of  Alverton No. 2 after 1920. 

 

Carolyn/Peerless Coke Works on the other hand, is a later coke plant. The Peerless Connellsville Coke Company was organized in 1907 with Wade Echard as President, James M. Doyle - Treasurer and P.W. Simon - Secretary. Others named in the charter include George Wilson, Christian Echard, John M. Mumaw, Samuel Cummings, J.M. Kennel, and Cyrus Echard. Their small coke plant of 32 ovens was named Carolyn and fired in the spring of 1908. I can't find how long they operated the plant under this name. By 1920 the plant was renamed Peerless and was being operated by the Mahoning Coal and Coke Company. After that I lost track of this as well.

 

Portion of the Alverton No. 2 mine map showing the Mayfield and Carolyn Coke Works. Mayfield, I believe originally started at the bottom and eventually started working its way north. Carolyn never got any bigger. Coincidentally, all that's left of Mayview today is the original part.

Mine map superimposed over a road map. Alverton No. 2 ran along a large portion of Sportsmen Road and ended up almost butting up with Donnelley Coke Works to the north.

Mine map superimposed over a modern aerial view.

This 1939 aerial shows that these two coke plants were still intact but very much abandoned.

 

 

Mayfield/Alverton No. 2

 

 

These are very old and in very bad condition.

This is probably the best one left.

The old rail bed that headed up to Carolyn after leaving here.

All the ovens at Mayfield were bank ovens.

These two are of the backside of the bank.

This is where the ovens just disappear.

 

 

 

 

Carolyn/Peerless

 

 

 

 

 

There are only five ovens left here.

What remains are in decent shape though.

There are some nice foundations and piers left.

The rail bed. You can see the bank where the rest of the ovens were to the right.

A couple footers on the ground.

Some sizable coke laying around.

One of the piers.

One of the arch blocks from the ovens.

An oven full of bones. This was a first.

Bricks that fell from the ovens.

 

Merry Christmas! This is my cat Skippy under the tree.