{"nrhp_refnum":"90000401","name":"Minersville Coke Ovens","other_names":[],"category":"site","location":{"address":"PA 913, 1 mi. E of Coalmont","address_restricted":false,"city":"Coalmont","county":"Huntingdon County","state":"PA","lat":40.216781124500045,"lon":-78.18402028053087,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1990-03-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Engineering"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A former coal mining and coke production site about one mile east of Coalmont in rural southern Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, on the north side of Route 913 between Millers Run and Shoups Run. It includes remains of beehive and Mitchell coke ovens, a tipple, supply and power buildings, a blacksmith and machine shop, rail rights-of-way and the Gordon Mine.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the site is eligible under Criterion A for its association with the coal and coke industry in Huntingdon County. It is also argued to be eligible under Criterion D for its potential to yield information about the efficiency, scale and methods of coal extraction and coke production, including the little-known Mitchell oven type.","narrative":"Coke ovens, foundations and mine works near Coalmont in southern Huntingdon County mark a coal extraction and coke production site worked from the late nineteenth century into the 1920s. The site lies between Millers Run and Shoups Run and includes two banks of beehive coke ovens, the remains of Mitchell ovens dating from 1924-25, a tipple, a coal pocket, supply and power buildings, a blacksmith and machine shop, rail rights-of-way and the Gordon Mine. The Prospect Mine was opened in 1857 on the Shoup's Run branch of the Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad. Robert Hare Powel later built Belgian ovens there, and Joseph Thropp removed them before building the beehive ovens. Thropp operated the works until 1925, when the property was sold at auction. Its significance rests on its link to the local iron and coal industry and on its potential to show how the plant was arranged and operated. Little of the structures survives above ground, but their foundations still show the layout.","period_of_significance":"1879-1925 circa","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","D"],"status_note":"The site was left to deteriorate after operations closed, structural material was removed, and machinery is no longer present.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:36.895457-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/90000401.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000401/abb7b5fb73-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/90000401/abb7b5fb73-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Generic1139","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Minersville_Coke_Ovens.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Generic1139</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Minersville_Coke_Ovens.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71993047","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minersville_Coke_Ovens","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6864458"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/huntingdon-county/minersville-coke-ovens-90000401/"}