ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 71
In 1882 a mine was opened, by Harbard Bennett, on the Allo-
way farm near Commercial Point. This mine, the "Alloway," at
first produced for the local"trade. In 1884 David Sullivan bought A
the leasehold and a chute was built from which the coal hauled
by wagons to that point could be loaded direct to waiting vessels;
A later venture, typical of the vicissitudes of mining, was that h
made in 1902, by Rosser Calloway, now residing in Sturgis. As
a boy of fifteen he began pit—mining coal on his father’s farm,
midway between Sturgis and Sullivan. He dug and sold an
estimated 1,000 tons the first year. Three years later young
I Calloway leased the mine, and after eleven years of operation
bought the coal rights, operated as owner until 1920, and in that
year sold the mine. Ten years later he repurchased and refitted {
the property. In 1936 the power-house and tipple were destroyed
by fire. Later rebuilt, its production in 1938 was 25,000 tons.
With the advent, in 1886, of the railroad, the mining industry
developed too rapidly to be followed in detail. In the early 1900’s
  Uniontown became the center of a mining and shipping business
s that extended from Louisville to New Orleans. The third of the  
Uniontown mines, "Old Southland," as it was known, continued Y
in operation until 1926, yielding as high as 150 tons daily. The
p mine is now in ruins. The "Interstate," fourth of the Uniontown
mines, now in operation, opened in 1920, became in 1936 the
property of _the Highland Creek Coal Company.
The Morganfield area was opened in 1902 by the sinking of a
shaft which struck the No. 11 seam at a depth of 225 feet. The
Maginnis Coal Company, the present operator, specializes in
domestic coal.
Of the many mines that, since the fifties, at one time or an-
other have operated within the county, few remain in production.
During the years between 1885 and 195 communities de- ,
_ pendent solely upon mining came into existence, prospered,
p faded. Differences between capital and labor were not unknown.
l A strike in 1924 and the lessened demand of the early 1930’s
brought almost complete disaster. The closing of mines at
p Waverly, Curlew, and DeKoven has resulted in a considerable _
  loss in population. The path of recovery is slow. But by far the
L- greater part of the mineral wealth of Union County—wealth
k measured, tested. and available-—remains.