4 minute read
DID YOU KNOW ...
THAT COAL BEDS FORMED IN THE SOUTH TEXAS PLAINS REGION ALONG THE RIO GRANDE MORE THAN 50 MILLION YEARS AGO?
by the CHAPS Program at UTRGV
Since the 1901 Spindletop gusher near Beaumont and later local oil field strikes in Webb (1921) and Starr (1938) counties, Texas has been associated with oil and natural gas production. Decades earlier, in the 1880s, coal was mined in Webb County, 25 miles north of Laredo, in four mining towns: Santo Tomas, Minera or Carbon, Dolores or San Jose, and Darwin, later known as Cannel. Jointly, the region was known as Las Minas. Ghost towns today, in their heyday during the early twentieth century, the combined populations of these towns grew to 2,000 residents, some equipped with a general store, boarding houses, barbershops, a post office, a meat market, and a bakery. By the late 1930s, commercial coal mining waned and eventually these towns were abandoned. What remains of these early coal mining towns are large tailing heaps of left-over waste materials and a few remnants of buildings.
A tremendous supply of coal mined during the rise of Industrial America
At Las Minas, workers mined shallow seams of cannel coal, a low-grade coal known as lignite, with high gas, oil, and sulfur content. This formation dates from the Eocene epoch some 34-56 million years ago. Eventually it was mined, mainly by Mexican immigrant laborers, in horizontal shafts or drift mines near the banks of the Rio Grande. Once extracted, it was carried by barge to Laredo, where it was used primarily as boiler fuel for homes, railroads, and other industries, including blacksmithing. After the Texas Mexican Railway Company arrived in Laredo in 1881, a new narrow-gauge railroad line was built to transport food and other goods to service the mines. Known at the time as the Pecos and Rio Grande Railroad, by 1883 it was transporting coal to markets in the north and west. Eventually, it connected to the International and Great Northern Railroad, carrying coal that sold at the wholesale price of $3.25 per ton. These transportation arteries allowed remote borderland regions to participate in a national market economy through railroad transportation of goods.
The coal beds formed along the ancestral Rio Grande over 50 million years ago are apparent in western Starr, Zapata, Webb, and Maverick counties. These black rocks became a geographical landmark, one which lent its name to the city of Piedras Negras in Coahuila, Mexico, across from Eagle Pass, Texas. Today, near the approach to the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity International Bridge connecting Texas to Nuevo León, only a slag heap, a few foundations, a cemetery, and a historical marker identify the site of the Santo Tomas Coal Field.
As the holidays rapidly approach, some may ask: have you been naughty or nice?
Have you ever wondered where that idiom came from? Historians trace the origins of this idea back to Saint Nicholas in 4th century Germanic folklore. Sinterklaus, the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas, was known to leave a lump of coal from the fireplace in the shoes of bad children. During the 19th century, this concept continued to haunt children from wealthy families who were most likely to receive a toy for Christmas. By this time, European and American homes were heated with coal. However, a lump of coal was considered a practical gift for poor families to help heat their homes. Today, this phrase is often used as a warning to children to be well behaved, otherwise severe consequences will ensue. Beware, Santa may only leave a lump of coal in your stocking for Christmas.
As you can see by the size of the images of the surviving tailing heap in this article, Santa has a plentiful supply of coal, so be wary – and behave!
For more stories, visit CHAPS at: UTRGV.edu/CHAPS
