In 1900, at the turn of the century, five men got together and formed The Riverdale Mining Company. None of the men were from the Shinnston area, but all were seeking local land to mine coal. The five men were: John A. Clark of Fairmont, E.G. Davisson and A.H. Kunst of Weston, and Hugh G. Bowles and A.G. Bowles of Monongah. The Monongah boys held title to the company and in February, leased 200 acres of coal territory on the David Mahlon Shinn tract of land, located just north of Shinnston’s boundaries. David Mahlon Shinn was a great grandson of the settler Levi Shinn and D.M. inherited much of the ancestral land. The state granted a charter to the company and by the middle of March, the company began grading the property. They initially built about two dozen houses—both two story duplexes as well as one level singles—for miners to live in.
The Fairmont Coal Company purchased The Riverdale Mining Company in April 1902 for $75,000.
When the Monongah Mine exploded on December 6 th , 1907, scores of mine employees from all over headed to Monongah to help in the rescue effort. Clarence Beetle, the Riverdale mine boss, joined the recovery effort, but during the process, he suffered severe systemic damage from the mine gases and fumes. He succumbed to the exposure a month later.
The Consolidation Coal Company was formed from consolidating several local mining companies, with The Fairmont Coal Company being swallowed up in that corporation. That being stated, by 1910, the Riverdale Mine became known as Consolidation Coal Company’s Riverdale Mine No.66.
Riverdale was its own community with a company store, hotel, and streetcar stop (which was located on the west side of the West Fork River and had a pedestrian swinging bridge connecting it to the mining camp on the east side of the river). For social activities, the mining camp had its own woman’s club and baseball team. The coal company encouraged miners and their wives to be part of approved societal groups. The Riverdale Woman’s Club often held contests with the
Viropa Woman’s Club. The two clubs also met annually for a joint club picnic at Viropa Park, a once popular spot located near the present day Neer residence at Viropa. Their picnics usually consisted of holding outdoor contests and races in addition to a dinner program. The Shinnston Woman’s Club was not formed until 1929. The Riverdale Baseball Team competed against teams from other mines, playing most of their games on Sunday afternoons.
The Consolidation Coal Company closed the Riverdale Mine in February 1925. At that time, the daily coal capacity was around 500 tons. Miner’s homes were eventually purchased by some of the miner’s who had been living in them. One of the last families to live in the community of Riverdale was the Frank Gemondo Family. Today, the land upon which the mining community was located is jointly a part of the Shinnston Wastewater Treatment Plant (started in 1989 and
operational in June 1991) as well as part of Mark Southern’s development, appropriately known as ‘Riverdale Estates’.
