Eckhart Mines is an unincorporated town in Allegany County

Allegany County, Maryland

Allegany County is a county located in the northwestern part of the US state of Maryland. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 75,087. Its county seat is Cumberland...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, USA. Eckhart Mines lies at the southwestern base of Federal Hill, 2.9 km (1.8 mi) east of Frostburg

Frostburg, Maryland

Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States located at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,873 at the 2000 census...

 and 1.3 km (0.8 mi) northwest of Clarysville

Clarysville, Maryland

Clarysville is an unincorporated town in Allegany County, Maryland, USA. It is located along U.S. Route 40 Alternate, at its intersection with Maryland Route 55. Clarysville was known around the region for the Clarysville Inn, a historic building which stood in Clarysville from 1807 until it burned...

. The town was originally founded as a company town

Company town

A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...

 for the nearby Eckhart Mines. The original owner was George Eckhardt, and immigrant from Germany. The outcrop of the Pittsburgh coal seam

Pittsburgh coal seam

The Pittsburgh Coal Seam is the thickest and most extensive coal bed in the Appalachian Basin; hence, it is the most economically important coal beds in the eastern United States. The Upper Pennsylvanian Pittsburgh coal bed of the Monongahela Group is extensive and continuous, extending over...

 here is known locally as the big vein or the 14 foot coal. The Eckhart Mines' location here was the first bituminous coal

Bituminous coal

Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...

 mine developed in the Georges Creek Valley

Georges Creek Valley

Georges Creek Valley is located in Allegany County, Maryland along the George's Creek. The valley is rich in wide veins of coal, known historically as the "The Big Vein." Coal was once extracted by deep mines but is only mined today through surface mining...

 coalfield because this is where The National Road crossed the coal outcrop. The Eckhart operation was known as the Maryland Mining Company

Maryland Mining Company

The Maryland Mining Company is a historic coal mining, iron producer and railroad company that operated in Allegany County, Maryland.The company was based in Eckhart Mines, Maryland; the location in Braddock Run was among the first bituminous coal mines developed in the Georges Creek...

 which eventually combined with other companies to form the Consolidation Coal Company the Eckhart operation was the 1st commercial coal company in the united states.