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Georges Creek Valley is located inAllegany County, Maryland along theGeorges Creek. The valley is rich in wide veins ofcoal, known historically as "The Big Vein." Coal was once extracted by deepmines but is only mined today throughsurface mining. The Georges Creek Valley was once a major center for the US coal industry.
A series of small mining towns were founded along the Georges Creek Valley in the nineteenth century when coal was discovered in the region. This led mining companies in the valley to developrailroads for transporting the coal. Some of these railroads were merged into theCumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad System between 1853 and 1870. A competing railroad, theGeorge's Creek and Cumberland Railroad, operated in the valley between 1876 and 1917, followed by theWestern Maryland Railway.
Most of the original settlers to the Valley came in response to the abundance of jobs available in the coal mines. Many wereIrish, butGerman,Scottish, andWelsh names also are found in the early records of the town.
Coal mining quickly became the most important industry in theCumberland area. Some of the richest beds of soft,bituminous coal in the country lay within the hills and mountains of this region. After theCivil War, coal became one of Maryland's chief products and exports. Coal from the Cumberland area fueled the state'smills and plants,steamships inBaltimore'sharbor as well as theUS Navy fleet, and was traded to buyers fromLondon,Brazil,Egypt, and beyond. Primarily Scottish and Welsh immigrants provided the labor force for these mines, immigrating with their families for the opportunities America offered. In the Cumberland region, miners escaped the indebtedness to the mining company that plagued miners in surrounding states. Thecompany store system, in which miners were forced to purchase all their supplies and household needs from the mining company, was outlawed in Maryland in 1868. A comparatively high proportion of miners were also homeowners, as local mining firms found it more profitable to sell houses to their miners, than establish "company" housing.
Since regional coal mines were constructed with horizontal shafts, they were far less dangerous than thevertical shaft mines ofPennsylvania andWest Virginia. Still, the regional miners, blackened from head to foot when they emerged from a mine at the end of a day, knew that thecarbon-filled air, which corroded the lungs over time, would lead to an early death.
AfterWorld War I, coal production started to decline, and today only somestrip mining remains as the last vestige of this once all-important industry. Coal trains once went through the valley every day, but now do so only once or twice a month.
Locals pronounce the "creek: inGeorges Creek ascrick by locals, though they pronounce other streams ascreek.
Heavy Scottish heritage in the area give locals a dialect unique in the area. Many outsiders confuse the local dialect with that ofOntario, Canada, which it closely resembles.[citation needed] However, the use of terms like "crick" and others like "crawfish" for "crayfish" are indicative of theWestern Pennsylvania English dialect.
39°34′18″N78°58′38″W / 39.57167°N 78.97722°W /39.57167; -78.97722
