Tench Coxe knew there was coal in the hills

Tench Coxe was a statesman, author, and land speculator who owned more than a million acres throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania but whose investments did not prove profitable in his lifetime.

Coxe, who was born in Philadelphia in 1755, joined his father's mercantile firm and eventually turned to a career in public service. During the American Revolution, Coxe's Loyalist sympathies complicated his political ambitions, and he was once accused of treason for collaborating with the enemy. He swore an oath of allegiance to the United States and retained the respect of his patriot neighbors, receiving a variety of public appointments under George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson.

Anthracite was discovered in Pennsylvania in the late 1760s, and Coxe began to purchase promising acreage in 1790. Although he acquired land throughout the country, he particularly focused on Carbon, Luzerne, and Schuylkill Counties, which he believed held vast underground seams of coal. Coxe worked diligently to retain these properties, which he believed would bring wealth to future generations of the family.

When Coxe died July 16, 1824, his son Charles was the sole executor of his estate, which included about 1.5 million acres in eight states. Indeed, the elder Coxe's purchases would secure wealth for the Coxe family and all its mining enterprises well into the 20th century.