History of Carbon County coal mining
The seeds of Carbon County’s coal mining industry were planted in 1866. That’s the year Jim George discovered outcroppings of Montana’s high-quality Carbon County coal in Rock Creek. Rich coal deposits were found one town over, in Red Lodge, the same year and mining small amounts of Carbon County coal began a few years later. Settlers and mine workers started moving into the area when a Northern Pacific branch line coming into Red Lodge was finished in 1889 and Carbon County was born six years after. By 1910, Red Lodge had a population of 5,000 people and coal mining in Carbon County was in full swing.
Carbon County coal was used for Northern Pacific locomotives and local smelters at the turn of the century. People also heated their homes with the Carbon County coal they were able to extract. This was possible due to the low-sulfur content level in Carbon County coal.
Production of Carbon County coal began to increase when Bearcreek’s high-quality coal was discovered. Mining the available Carbon County coal resources was important to the growth of the area but transporting it over the Bearcreek-Red Lodge Bench made profitability difficult. Until, that is, the Yellowstone Park Railroad completed a line in 1906 from Bridger to the mines in Bearcreek, making it possible to bring Carbon County coal to market.
These rail lines made it easy for those looking for work in Carbon County coal mines and a chance to own their own home to find that opportunity in Red Lodge and Bearcreek. Carbon County coal production peaked in the 1920s. At that time, an estimated 9,000 people lived in the Red Lodge and Bearcreek areas, and most residents were involved in the Carbon County coal mining industry.
Unfortunately, coal mining in Carbon County began to slow down by the 1930s as surface mining was becoming more prevalent due to its cost-effectiveness. Oil and gas were slowly replacing coal in a number of ways. World War II temporarily revived demand for Carbon County coal but was not enough to keep the Carbon County coal industry afloat.
Today, Montana still contains roughly 120 billion tons of coal – roughly 25% of the nation’s total coal reserves. By comparison, Wyoming produces the most coal in America, but has just over half of Montana’s available coal deposits – roughly 68 billion tons. Despite having the largest coal reserves in the country, Montana is only the sixth largest coal-producing state in the U.S., producing between 35 and 40 million tons every year. Coal deposits are still found all over the state with a massive amount of low-sulfur, high-quality coal found in Carbon County.