VA-O35 Midlothian Coal Mines

Marker text: MIDLOTHIAN COAL MINES

South of here are the Midlothian Coal Mines, probably the oldest coal mines in America. Coal was first mined here before 1730, and during the Revolution, coal from these mines supplied the cannon foundry at Westham. The first railroad in Virginia was built from the Midlothian mines to the town of Manchester in 1831. The mines produced coal that was used in casting cannon at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond during the Civil War. Mining operations ceased in 1923.

Department of Conservation and Historic Resources, 1987.