Glen Burn Colliery

Biography

Cameron Colliery, later known as Glen Burn Colliery, was an anthracite coal mine north of Shamokin, Pa., in Northumberland County. Cameron Colliery was owned by the Susquehanna Coal Company, whose major stockholders were the Pennsylvania Canal Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Shamokin's Lower Gap was mined beginning around 1836, with the first colliery being built in 1857. In 1864, the operation was named Cameron Colliery, after William Cameron. Although a fire harmed the operation around 1890, Cameron operated until 1940 when the name was changed to Glen Burn Colliery. Mining finally ceased in 1970 and the colliery was ultimately dismantled in 2000. During its tenure, over 33 million tons of coal was mined.

The culm bank at Cameron Colliery/Glen Burn Colliery once had the record of being the world's largest man-made mountain, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.