Pocomtuc Creek Mockumentary

A Current History of the Pocomtuc Creek Mining Co. Railroad

This is a typed copy of a handwritten paper found by myself when cleaning out an attic partition in my new school where I teach. Unfortunately, the date the paper was written and the author’s name on the cover page were too damaged to read. However, written across the top in a different faded color was “ATTN: Ms. F Schavelin, I do not understand why I received a B for a grade, I included the minimum number of citations and quotes.”

Here is the paper as an exact copy with the cover page and works cited pages omitted…

“The history of the Pocomtuc Creek Mining Company Railroad begins in the middle 1800s. The railroad originally started as the New Salem, Dead Fish, and Pocomtuc Creek Railroad. Being incorporated during the great railroad boom in the North and across America at that time, the NS, DF, and PC RR received their charter a mere few days after the Thatcher Brook Railroad and the Calais and Old Town Railroad. While the Thatcher Brook and Calais and Old Town Railroad found quick success, the Pocomtuc Creek Railroad, unfortunately, did not. After receiving its charter at the now-historic Thatcher Courthouse, the company officials proceeded across the street to the General Lafayette’s Horse—a well-known colonial establishment renamed in 1783 from The King’s Arms to General Lafayette’s Horse.

The name of the inn came from the local legend that one night, General Lafayette, while spending a night in the colonial establishment around All Hallows’ Eve, after being regaled with many American All Hallows’ Eve stories by the roaring fireplace in the common room, left the inn late in the evening and, after becoming startled by several noises in the dark, shot and killed his horse. The poor beast was promptly buried next to the inn, which is now the site of the recently built Sears & Roebuck. Author’s note: In the dismantling and surveying of the remains of the General Lafayette’s Horse Inn, no equine remains were discovered.

Shortly after the railroad company officials entered the General Lafayette’s Horse Inn, they quickly found their chartered railroad had gone broke and, the next day, passed into receivership. A week later, they were re-chartered as the New Salem and Pocomtuc Creek Railroad for debt and tax purposes. This time, it would be funded by no one less than Thaddeus Hieronymus Fisk, cousin once removed by marriage to the robber baron and industrialist, James “Big Jim” Fisk of stock market and Erie Railroad fame. History records that “James Fisk, American Stockbroker, Corporate Executive, Financier, and Colonel in the New York State Militia, was murdered in the city of New York on January the 7th, 1872,” (New York Times). Many people at the time, including the author of this paper currently, believe this was nothing more than another one of James Fisk’s tax dodges. Thaddeus Hieronymus Fisk continued to help grow the company. Some say that the railroad became nothing more than a reason not to attend another one of his wife’s rallies at the estate. Mrs. Violet Constance Fisk, a well-noted proponent of the temperance movement, having grown up in Missouri and being a personal friend of Carrie Moore (Carrie Nation), frequently held raucous meetings protesting everything related to the “devil’s brew.” It was widely speculated that Mr. Fisk spent so much time at the railroad because he couldn’t stand to spend so much time at home. Unfortunately, due to lavish spending on slow horses and even slower stocks, the company again passed into debt and receivership upon his death.

Back in the late 1830s, the large coal deposits of Pocomtuc Creek began to be worked to help fire the American Industrial Revolution. Coal coming from the large Republic Mine (in the valley) and the smaller Indian Princess Mine (in the hills above) was already being well worked by the 1840s. However, it was not until the railroad came that shipping out the coal became effective. The horse drawn wagon loads were just not as economically viable as the steam engine. Carnegie Steel Company Chairman Mr. Henry Clay Frick became very interested in purchasing the coal from both mines in 1891 to help fire the steel mills in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, this contract could not be concluded quickly, owing to the problems dealing with the Homestead Riot at the Homestead Steel Mill. Then came the attempted murder of Mr. Frick by Union Anarchist, and Socialist, Alexander Berkman. Mr. Frick was shot and stabbed twice. Mrs. Adelaide Frick became very ill in childbirth due to the news of her husband, who was in a very bad way, which then led to a difficult birth of their son, Master Henry Clay Frick Jr., who only lived for three weeks. In 1893, Mr. Frick again contacted The Pocomtuc Creek Railroad and purchased the total rights of coal in the area for fueling the steelworks in Homestead. The Union strikers had to be cleared from the mill, the damage they had done repaired, and workers who did not wish to strike had to be escorted to and from work so they would not be beaten by mobs of union members. The now back up and running mill was under the protection of over six thousand soldiers of the Pennsylvania National Guard from the union thugs.

A few times unions tried to form at the Indian Princess Mine in Pocomtuc Creek. However, most of the coal miners did not wish to join and when the union agitators began to talk of sabotaging the mine, the miners had enough. The agitators were run out of town on a rail and told never to come back. The reason why unions were so disliked by the community of Blackwood's Crossing is the great and mysterious fire of 1876. It was proven to be arson later, and is rumored the Molly Maguires had tried to burn the mine down between shifts in the 1870s. This not only would put the men's lives at risk, with no mine, they would be jobless. As the story goes, Mr. Shawn Shamus O'Tool, who was a twelve year old mule driver in the mine, actually saved the mine. He had left the centennial celebration early with some carrots in his pocket on his day off to go visit the mule assigned to him in the mine. With carrots in tow for LuLu Belle, he descended into the mine down No.2 shaft after asking if the cage hoist operator on duty would "please do him this favor." Shift Boss Mr. Constantine Jacobson finally relented and allowed the boy to go. Young Mr. O'Tool was very much liked by all who worked in the mines and it was well know that "that boy treats that darn mule better then most men treat their wives." When "Young Shawn" reached the 200 level in the cage, he smelled smoke. He immediately signaled emergency on the bell and ran to find the fire. To quote from the inquiry, "The fire had been set at the base of the No. 1 fan house were fresh air was pumped into the mine, thus concealing the smoke and fanning the fire. The perpetrators also broke or disabled three fire doors allowing the fire to spread."

Shawn tried to close the fire doors, but finding them damaged ran to stables for LuLu Belle. On the way, already suffering from smoke and poisonous gas exposure he found a fire door only partially disabled. At the same time, smoke began to rise from the No.1 fan. Mr. Jacobson ordered the fan to be reversed. Drawing the smoke back out of the mine, and no longer adding oxygen to the fire. He said "We kept trying to contact Young Shawn on the bell but there was no response. We did not want to abandon the boy, so we left the hoist where it was." Somehow, in the dark, Shawn had found a way to close the door and seal the fire from the rest of the mine. He then stumbled back in the pitch dark to the stables. Upon finding Lulu Bell, he led her back to the No.2 shaft. Shawn reported, "It was pitch black and I could not see a single thing. Honestly, I just held onto her mane and coughed out the words 'Up, girl', which is what I always used to tell her when we were pulling a coal dram back to the hoist. I just stumbled blindly, holding on to her in the dark, when I heard the familiar sound of a mule's shoes on steel, telling me we had somehow gotten back to the cage." To everyone's amazement, suddenly, "emergency" and "up, quick" rang on the hoist bell. When the hoist came up, Shawn was unconscious, lying face down next to Lulu Belle, who was standing next to him, nuzzling the boy's face as if to wake him up.

After recovering from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning, Mr. Shawn O'Tool was held as the hero saving the mine. By closing the fire door, he had helped smother the fire that now only damaged part of the 200 level and the fan house. He was awarded a pension by the company, and Lulu Belle was given to him with an annual subsidy for her care. It is widely speculated Mr. Thaddeus Hieronymus Fisk was responsible for this. Mr. O'Tool worked in the companies office for another thirty one years, never going underground again.

By 1908, six months before the railroad was due to be scrapped, JP Morgan and Company purchased the failing rail line for the promising emerging lumber trade in New England, wishing to capitalize on the “prime and exquisite wood products of this fair section of our American country for which we can beautifully and cheaply adorn our American mansions.” (originally attributed to Mr. JP Morgan, 1907). Author’s note: This quote is now attributed to Dr. Samuel Zachary Jones, dentist and experimental ventriloquist to JP Morgan’s household staff.

By 1909, the number of engines on the road of the New Salem and Pocomtuc Creek had doubled from three to six. A new and bigger coal seam had been discovered. The company’s stock had produced its first dividend and a branch line was planned to gain access to new granite deposits for the railroad company. After a lumber dispute between the New Salem and Pocomtuc Creek Railraod and the Calais and Old Town Railroad, whose profits were not as great as the Thatcher Brook Railroad, but still extensive, caused a problem for Mr. Morgan which was promptly dealt with, supposedly by Mr. Morgan himself, who on one Sunday night in late December, bought the controlling shares of 90 % of the stock of the Calais and Old Town Railroad. He then promptly dismantled the C and OT RR. All the tracks and rolling stock/locomotives were sent to the New Salem and Pocomtuc Creek Railroad except for passenger car 12, which was involved in the well-known great wreck on Shekinah Bent’s Curve in February 1897. This passenger car, No. 12, was the only car not destroyed in the Shekinah Curve wreck. However, when returned to service, it was considered by railroad personnel and railroad patrons to be haunted. The remnants of this abandoned car can still be seen outside of Calais right next to the foundations of the old abandoned machine shop. The lawsuit stemming from that wreck nearly bankrupted the Calais and Old Town Railroad. Train No. 14 was an extra that day, carrying some light mixed freight and passengers, including six newly purchased racehorses. Major Sinclair Yeates (British Army, retired), Resident Magistrate in Skebawn, Ireland, and Mr. Florence McCarthy Knox (breeder and dealer of fine horses) of Assolas Castle, Ireland, who were unharmed in the wreck, were two of many plaintiffs who sued the railroad. Surprisingly, all of the horses survived, but the new chalk slates for the local school were completely smashed. Author’s Note: As the story goes, this curve originally received its name when Elkanah “Butcher” Bent of Mexican War fame’s horse, Satan, lost a race by missing that curve in the dirt path and came crashing down the embankment to its death. Elkanah apparently got off with only a few slight scratches. The locals, not being able to correctly say “Elkanah,” changed the name over the years to “Shekinah”. The race was agreed upon by several young men after Mr. Bent proclaimed he “was the best general and rider in the country.” This was after his expulsion from the United States Military Academy at West Point NY around 1844. After crashing his horse and being justly mocked, he quickly vanished, skipping out on paying his lost wager money, which he still owes all $2.15 of to this author’s 3rd great grandfather, now deceased.

In early May 1912, Mr. Joshua Aloysius Reynolds III was transferred under a cloud from JP Morgan’s International Mercantile and Marine (Mr. Reynolds also having had considerable interests and investments in a British Steam Ship Company) to the New Salem and Pocomtuc Creek Railroad. He promptly had a large estate built in the town of Pocomtuc Creek and named it Laughter Hall as he assumed his duties at the railroad. When interviewed by the local newspaper, the “Pocomtuc Brave,” about how the railroad stocks were, and why he was transferred to New England, Mr. Reynolds, “proclaimed boldly the railroad would see another dividend before the year was out.” He then quietly muttered, “at least trains can’t sink.” Author’s note: It was reported by Mr. RT Smith of the newspaper that the, now-infamous to our town, “sink statement” was said as if he thought no one could hear. However, no other reporters present heard the statement.

The railroad did produce that dividend, albeit a small one. Unfortunately, in late 1912, the railroad was dealt a double blow when the rich lumber resources (which had become severely depleted) were found cheaper elsewhere and the expansion branch line to the granite deposits was also cancelled as the Thatcher Brook Railroad beat the New Salem and Pocomtuc Creek to the land and minerals rights. JP Morgan and Co officials, now viewing the railroad as a possible liability, sold it to Mr. Thatcher Q. Croaker, a noted New England politician whose slogans of jobs, radical voter reform (no land, no vote), and anti-European war rhetoric made him popular at the time. The Croakers, however, are not to be confused with the Crockers of Central Pacific Railroad fame, which was “accidentally” done in the 1923 book, “Robber Barons, Crackpots, and Quacks: Small Railroads of New England,” published and poorly researched by the 16-year-old Mr. Charlie Phipps and the publishing cost paid for by his father. Upon hearing of this, the elder Mr. Croaker proclaimed, “We are absolutely two separate families. I’ve never been to California, nor would I ever go. I find their mild and warm climate absolutely disgusting.” Author’s Note: this book also contains many spelling errors as well.

With the railroad going broke again, a miracle happened. Talc was accidentally discovered on one of the old logging properties by two young brothers. Mr. PS O’Riley and Mr. TM O’Riley were playing stick ball outside after breaking a window for the second time that week at their home. They had run away from home and been found by their furious mother, and it was confirmed in a personal interview by me that they did receive another spanking. This discovery led to the great talc boom in Pocomtuc Creek and Thatcher Brook. From 1914 until 1918, the NS and PC RR made a healthy profit by selling the talc to the US Military and Allied Powers as an anti-trenchfoot remedy. Author’s Note: asbestos was recently found in the old talc mixture, which is currently the center of a class-action lawsuit. According to company officials, the asbestos was added to the talc at the mill; it does not come from the mine. No asbestos has been used in the Pocomtuc Creek Company’s Talc since 1967.

After a great boom to the profits of the company from the Great War, the railroad did well until 1929. The stock market crash and Great Depression hit the Croaker family hard, leading to the unfortunate sale of two of the three family estates. Mr. Thatcher Q. Croaker, suffering ill health, eventually died from choking on a poorly deboned chicken, and ownership of the company was transferred over to his eldest son, Capt. John Croaker, formerly of the catering corps, US Army, who served in that capacity with great distinction in World War I. He and his much younger brother, Richard Croaker, ran the railroad barely above the red until 1940, when major contracts for the talc again began to come in for World War II, saving the rail line again from bankruptcy. From 1940 until the 1950s, the railroad passed into control of Mr. Richard Croaker after his elder brother’s death from a bad bout of food poisoning. Mr. R Croaker went missing when the SS Agamemnon vanished in 1952 off the coast of Argentina with all 211 passengers and 52 crew aboard. Author’s note: while nothing was ever found by the Argentine government of the SS Agamemnon, inquiries were made by that government into getting a talc shipment contract from the company. However, the contract never materialized. They were contacted by Mr. Heinrich Steiner (Argentine Citizen) on behalf of Argentine Colonel Juan Carlos von Mullinth.

From 1952 until 1966, the railroad was passed from bank to bank in bankruptcy. Most of the NS and PC RR became abandoned and only the line to the talc mine at Pocomtuc Creek remained open to the last locomotive running. The last bank owning the railroad was forced to close due to financial difficulties. Author’s note: I am required by a court order to state that the New Salem Bank closed due to financial difficulties from financial obligations, not that it was caught up in the money-laundering scheme of Warden Samuel Norton of Shawshank State Prison. However, this court order does not prevent me from mentioning that prison labor and chain gangs were used to reopen several small sections of the rail line, as well as build the addition and porch onto the private residence of Mr. C. K. Squiggs, president of the now defunct New Salem Bank.

With coal enough for one more trip from the talc company with the last locomotive in 1972, an agreement was reached with the now-revitalized and thriving Thatcher Brook Railroad for the lease of two locomotives from them deemed surplus equipment and trackage rights were negotiated. Today, the reorganized Pocomtuc Creek Talc Co. owns the partially rebuilt railroad and is run by its new parent company, the Thatcher Brook Railroad. The Pocomtuc Creek Mining Co’s railroad currently handles some small goods, farming, and machinery traffic as well as the talc from the Spiro Agnew Victory Pit No. 4.”

The above paper was unfortunately destroyed by the chemical reconstitution agent used to illuminate the faded handwriting and transcribe the above paper. I record this as the information contained within this paper could be of interest to the Pocomtuc Creek Historical Society or the Thatcher Brook Antiquarian League. My wife very kindly transcribed the paper through dictation by me. After fishing the work, she heartily exclaimed that she was “glad that the child who wrote this paper was not one of ours, two academics in our family is two, too many.”