Darkness, Death
Life of Miners
The town enjoyed its prosperity, but it also suffered the hardships of mining life. Deaths from mining accidents were not infrequent. Youngstown resident Walter S. Butler died on January 1, 1890 when he was crushed between timbers and the coak cage in the Christy coal shaft. Joseph and William Woskey were killed by falling slate on June 18, 1891. Slate falls and shot firing (dynamiting the coal seam) led to other deaths and injuries.
Just working underground all day must have been difficult for those attracted west by wide prairies and a fresh start in life. Some present day Pleasant Hill residents can recall their fathers working in the mines. Vic Peterson remembers that his father, Charles, said that the most beautiful sight after working all day in the mine was coming out and seeing the laundry hang out at his home.
By the end of the decade, the Smith-Lowe mine overshadowed the Christy, and Carbondale was a larger community than Youngstown. The post office was moved to Carbondale on August 31, 1899. Afterwards, mail delivery came from Altoona by horse and wagon. At one time, Virgil Hawkins was the mail carrier.
Youngstown was still a miners' town despite the loss of the post office. In 1900, the U.S. census showed the township's population had Increased to 1,534. A school census that year for the Pleasant Hill School District listed 199 school-age children.
Heads of households listed in that school census included J. T. Darland, George Grills, William Williams, C. D. Landfield, L. A. Prior, Tom Fredregill, John Grandquist, Henry Cratty, Harlan Fisher, Lizzie Robesky, Jas. Shebeck, Frank Roach, Barney Baker, Hugh O'Donald, John Philips, George Ash, Jas. Scott, Lew Murphy, John Dazel, Hugh McNutty, Frank Sister, J. H. Dean, Frank Kreisinger, Jas. Law, Samuel Walker, W. E. Weaver, Christine Perrick, John Gallagher, Jas. Furry, Gris Grandquist, J. J. Batty, John Sloan, C. Treyen, John Treyen, H. Castings, John Steward, Frank Anderson, Alford Davidson, A. M. Warnock, Alex Jinkins, Daniel Paul, Edward Berch, Millie Welton, Mary Jones, Joseph Pool, William Crump, Fred Rimmer, N. A. Johnson, Harry Lrichese, Joseph Beeman, Wm. McMurry, Henry Lewis, J. R. McHenry, Frank Leonard, Alford Jefferson, John Moses, Chas. Clark, James Abbet, Nancy Harvey, Thos. Welton, Alice Mall, Wm. Davis, Wm. Dawson, W. T. Williams, and John Murrow.
