Dates

• Majority of material found within 1886 - 2000

Extent

183 boxes Linear Feet (This collection contains the records, reports, documents and correspondence of the Wilmore Real Estate Company. This company was a division of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. In the 1890s, Berwind-White, with headquarters in Philadelphia, decided to expand its operations into the rich coal fields of west-central Pennsylvania (the Wilmore basin), mainly in southern Cambria County and northern Somerset County near Johnstown. Before Berwind-White could begin operations in this area, it first had to obtain the land under which the coal was located, either by direct purchase of the land or by purchase of the mineral rights. To facilitate this process, Berwind-White created two subsidiaries, the Wilmore Coal Company, which held and managed all mineral rights, and Wilmore Real Estate Company, which held and managed all surface rights. For more information about the Berwind-White Coal Company and its Wilmore subsidiaries see Manuscript Group 127: The Dr. Mildred Allen Beik Collection, this collection documents the Coal Culture including oral history interviews with longtime residents from in and around Windber, Pennsylvania. Beginning in 1892, the Wilmore Coal Company and the Wilmore Real Estate Company began purchasing title to what would eventually include approximately 30,000 acres around the company town of Windber (the syllables of "Ber" and "wind" reversed), which became the hub for Berwind-White's vast operations in the area. The Wilmore Real Estate Company was primarily involved in the purchase, sale, and leasing of surface rights. They also managed all of the houses and farms that were rented or leased to Berwind-White's employees. The company also ran several of its own farms, including dairy farms and milk processing plants. Wilmore Real Estate was also involved in Berwind-White's reforestation program that began as early as the 1920s. As an integral component of the Berwind White Coal Mining Co., it is appropriate to include a brief history of that company. The Berwind White Coal Mining Co. was incorporated in January 1886. It was a reorganization of several partnerships that the Berwind brothers of Philadelphia had been involved in since the 1860s. They opened their first mine, Eureka No. 1, in Houtzdale, Pennsylvania, in the early 1870s. After the opening of its Windber area mines, the company became one of the most successful bituminous coal mining companies in the United States, mainly because of their vertical growth. They controlled the mining, transportation, financing, and marketing of the coal. Edward J. Berwind was the major figure who was responsible for the growth of the company. He was president of Berwind-White from 1890 to his death in 1936. He was called the "biggest name in bituminous coal mining." Berwind-White continued to grow in the first half of the 20th century. Its mines often ranked among the top five or six producers of coal in Pennsylvania. This prosperity continued until after World War Two when other types of fuel began to supercede coal in America's homes and industries. Berwind-White, unlike many other coal companies, recognized this trend and began to diversify its investments away from coal mining. Beginning in 1949 and continuing into the 1960s, Berwind-White closed or leased out most of its coal mines. Reorganized as the Berwind Group, the company has remained prosperous well into the 1990s. The company is involved in industries ranging from coal to construction products to pharmaceutical services. The Wilmore Coal Co. continues to function as the division of the company responsible for managing its real estate interests in its former mining lands in west-central Pennsylvania. The Wilmore Real Estate Company collection is a unique documentation of the property management and real estate practices of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Co. The collection is housed in 183 archival boxes, which are divided into eleven separate series. The documents cover the period from the 1890s to the 1960s. Most files deal with the purchase, sale, and leasing of mines, surface lands, mineral tracts, and buildings managed by the company. Extensive tax records are also included. Several series include records dealing with the company's interests in dairy farming and reforestation. Interwoven throughout the collection is a significant amount of material generated by the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company and the Wilmore Coal Company, since these companies were part of the same corporation as the Wilmore Real Estate Company. For more information about Windber, see Manuscript Group 127: The Dr. Mildred Allen Beik Collection.)

Language of Materials

English