"American Coal Company. The first commercial coal mine west of the Allegheny Mountains. The mine was opened in 1852. It was located in Fairmont, one block below the Watson Hotel on the Monongahela River and at the Baltimore [and] Ohio Railroad passanger station. The mine was opened in 1852 by James Otis Watson Of Fairmont. Scene shows 'Fairmont from the east side showing newspaper Building, 'Church on the Hill', and the hotel which later became the Hough House and the Skinner's Tavern."
!["American Coal Company. The first commercial coal mine west of the Allegheny Mountains. The mine was opened in 1852. It was located in Fairmont, one block below the Watson Hotel on the Monongahela River and at the Baltimore [and] Ohio Railroad passanger station. The mine was opened in 1852 by James Otis Watson Of Fairmont. Scene shows 'Fairmont from the east side showing newspaper Building, 'Church on the Hill', and the hotel which later became the Hough House and the Skinner's Tavern."](/thumb/005721.jpg "Fairmont, W. Va. - View from the East Side")