History of anthracite coal mining in Pennsylvania saved up to 25% in the production of iron, and that the quality of the iron was also superior (Adams, “US Coal Industry”). By the 1850s anthracite was used in the manufacture of about half of all crude iron produced in the US. The increased efficiency of anthracite heat was also instrumental in the manufacture of metal machinery and the transformation of water into steam for machinery power (Dublin, Licht, 17). The Civil War created a shift in the makeup of the anthracite coal industry. Prior to the war, the industry involved many small-scale mines with short-term leases resulting in
Anthracite iron and received it in 1837. By the time the patent was sealed, Yniscedwyn was producing about 35 tons of iron using anthracite only as a fuel. Inspired both by Geisenhainer and Crane (whose success was closely followed by the LC&N), experiments in the US continued. Baughman, Guiteau and Company used an old furnace near Mauch Chunk to produce some anthracite iron during late 1837. They built another experimental furnace nearby, which was worked for about two months during fall and winter 1838 and for some time in 1839, but mechanical deficiencies led them to abandon the furnace at the end