Clover Hill Pits

The Clover Hill Pits are a number of coal shafts and mines that operated in the Southside area of Richmond, Virginia, from 1837 until around 1883.

In 1837, coal was found after a heavy rain at Clover Hill Plantation, in Chesterfield County, Virginia, possibly by a slave.^[1] After mining began, mules carried the coal four miles to Epps Falls on the Appomattox River to be loaded onto boats on the Upper Appomattox Canal Navigation System.^[2]

In 1841, the Clover Hill Railroad was created to haul coal from the Clover Hill Pits, to the Osborne Landing Docks and later Bermuda Hundred dock to be transported by barge over the ocean to the Northern States. In 1848 the Clover Hill Railroad had produced 56,000 tons of coal for export and 22,000 tons for use in Richmond and Petersburg.^[3] The Clover Hill Pitts had several mining sites, the Brighthope Pit, the Halls pit and Racoon Pit. The company spread outside of Virginia. In 1876, Bituminous Coal from the Clover Hill Railroad Company was advertised in the Coal and Coal Trade Journal from a sales Office in New York.^[4]

In 1877 the Brighthope Railway replaced the Clover Hill Railroad. In 1883, 83 employees worked for the Brighthope Mining Company. The mines were declining when the Brighthope Railway was founded.^[5]

In 1890, the Norfolk and Western Railway brought in coal from a new coal mine in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Pocahontas Coalfield which could provide coal more cheaply and ship the coal on a larger standard gauge, class one railroad. This brought an end to the success of the Clover Hill Pits.^[6]

Slave owners leased their African slaves to be miners in the Clover Hill Pits. Slave owners would collect pay for the mining work as part of the lease agreements. Because the slave owner would suffer financial loss at the death of the slave, they purchased insurance policies that would pay the value of the slave to the owner in case of accidental death in the dangerous mines.^{[7][8][9][10]} The mining company also hired whites and hired free people of color.^[11]

Muchos mineros vivían en un pueblo llamado Winterpock . ^{[ 1 ]} Winterpock tenía más de 1000 residentes en 1870, pero a medida que la minería disminuyó, la comunidad de mineros se redujo. ^{[ 1 ]} Todo lo que queda del pueblo hoy en día es la Iglesia Bautista Reformada de Richmond, establecida en 1825, y una tienda que abrió en 1926 para vender gasolina y comida a los viajeros en automóvil después de que el ferrocarril se convirtiera en carreteras. ^{[ 12 ]}

El trabajo minero era peligroso. En 1867, una explosión provocó el cierre temporal de las minas y una epidemia de cólera ralentizó las labores. Explosiones de metano causaron la muerte de 17 y 69 mineros en 1859 y 1873, respectivamente. ^{[ 13 ]}

• Historia de la minería del carbón