No. 9 Mine & Museum is located off Route 209 in Lansford, Pennsylvania and is at the foot of the Pocono Mountains. It is between halfway the historic towns of Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua.
#9 Coal Mine started in as early as in 1855, considered to be the world's oldest continously operated anthracite coal mine. It was ultimately closed in 1972 but it was re opened again in 2002 as a heritage tourist attraction.
Today, the coal mine becomes one of the most ideal mine attraction giving its visitors an unforgettable experience in exploring the mine underground by taking visitors into a train that goes 1,600 feet into the mountainside and let them experience what it was like for those miners in the old days to work underground for more than past 200 years ago.
The tour includes a visit to the underground mule-way, the hospital inside the mine, and the 900-ft. deep original elevator shaft that once hauled loaded coal cars back to the surface.
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There are amazing additional sights and fascinating stories as well which are being shared by the tour guide.
The #9 mining museum can be easily seen at the "Wash Shanty" building. It is filled with exhibits of the original artifacts and equipments used by the miners for nearly 2 centuries of mining history at the coal mine.
As you enter the museum, you see clothings placed in wire baskets which are hanged through chains from the ceiling of the "wash shanty" building.
This sight is how it was during those days that 450 miners worked in the mine.
Other exhibits are the original tools that the miners used, - shovels, drills, axes, picks, blasting equipments, saws, lamps and their lunch cans and caps. There are also exhibits that include a life-sized replica of a mule boy and his mule, various original photo collection, original paintings, handcrafted and carved items made of coal, fossils, gems and even a replica of an 1800's miner's kitchen, and tons more to see.
A small gift shop is just at the entrance area of the museum which sells carved coal souvenirs, customized shirts/hats, books and more.
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