Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Landrus PA makes it to cyberspace!

Hello everyone, welcome to the (only?) internet home of Landrus, PA. What is up with this Landrus place, you ask?

Landrus Pennsylvania was a coal mining company town. Located approximately 10 miles west of Blossburg, PA and 12 miles southeast of Wellsboro, PA, Landrus was the home of the world's first electric powered coal mine.


...Landrus Pennsylvania was the home of the world's first electric powered coal mine.
Today crumbling building foundations, dozens of old rail/road grades and two momuments are all that is left at the location of Landrus.

Since moving to this area a few years ago, i've been exploring Landrus and the other ghosts towns that dot the Tioga County landscape. I find it amazing to be walking amongst these ruins that were not long ago busy and prosperous centers of the coal and rail industry of Pennsylvania.

I've created this blog to have a place on the internet where i can share history and my stories about Landrus, as i search for more information and explore the town.

I would like to invite anyone with information on the history of Landrus to share it here. I am also interested in photos, maps, books or any other Landrus relics that might be out there. Please post your information (please leave an email) or email me with questions or comments if you do not wish to post to this site. I will be posting some basic history info here, as well as some photos, and i invite anyone to send me more if you have more!

Currently, i am working with a national trail group that will be bringing this trail through the Landrus area, then north towards Hills Creek State Park, and on to NY and the Adirondacks. Although the main portion of the trail will not run directly through the main portions of Landrus, it will pass very closely to it. I am proposing to create an offshoot trail to Landrus.

Part of my motivation for this is creating a sculpture trail - i have already done two environmental/site-specific sculptures on this trail, and i am proposing to do a restorative/commemorative sculpture project right in the town of Landrus.

Thanks! i hope to hear from some other folks interested in Landrus. More info to come, please email me for more info or to contribute.

Sarah Gilkinson
sarah@insanart.com
http://www.insanart.com
http://design.insanart.com

5 comments:

Randy said...

Sarah,
Great job, got me interested in a visit to the town this spring. Hang in there on your art your day will come!

Anonymous said...

There was a small booklet written some time ago about the town and mines of Landrus. Think the authors last name was Baily but am not sure. May be copy in Mansfield library. Had photos of old town and incline, mape of railroad in area. Will let you know if find my copy.

Anonymous said...

A history of Landrus was published some time ago that had pics of the town, incline etc and maps of the rail line/ incline. Think authors name was Baily. May be copy in Mansfield or other local librarys. Will let you know I if find my copy.

Insan Art said...

thanks tom, please email me at sarah@insanart.com so we can chat more....i didn't know about that particular book.

Doc-Bob said...

My mother was born in Landrus. It does have a history as do most early coal based town in the late 1800's. It truly is a shame that more of the mines, i.e. the headers (openings), and some of the tipples could not have been left intact for historical value. The same is true of Fall Brook. Many of the old foundations were destroyed when surface mined.

Contact docbob@npacc.net