FOSTER TOWNSHIP         

    This township was formed from portions of Butler, Berry,  and
Cass early in 1855.  The first township election was held at  the
house  of Mr. Heilner, in Monterey, the settlement known  now  as
Mount  Pleasant.  The township lies in the mountains  region  be-
tween  the  two coal fields and is very  sparsely  settled.   The
southern  portion is in the southern coal field, and  a  somewhat
extensive business in mining has been carried on at Mount  Pleas-
ant,  Glen Carbon and near points.  Foster is bounded  by  Barry,
Bulter,  Cass,  Reilly, Frailey and Hegins.

 There are  only  two schools in the township.
    Who  first  lived within the present township limits  is  un-
known.  In 1831 widow Levan kept a tavern in an old log house  on
the site of Mount Pleasant. This village grew up under the  impe-
tus given to the neighborhood by coal operations in the  vicinity
by John Graham and others.

The buildings are mostly plain stone structures, and many
of them are unoccupied. There is no church or post-office  there.
The principal merchant is Carr Phillips. The traveling public are
more  than amply provided for at Mount Pleasant by  two  taverns.
For a time prior to 1871, when the mail was carried from  Miners-
ville through Mount Pleasant to Sunbury, there was a  post-office
there.  Glen  Carbon, in the southeast corner of the township,  is  a
railway station and post village. It is a small settlement  which
grew  up  in  consequence of coal operations  there.  Like  Mount
Pleasant  it is built mostly of stone. Messrs. Crowe & Scott  are
leading business men and well-known merchants.

COAL MINING.

    Many  of the early workings in the township have  been  aban-
doned. The colliery at Mount Pleasant was some years since vacat-
ed,  and purchased by the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and  Iron
Company.
    The Rohersville colliery was opened by Mr. Rohers, of  Phila-
delphia.   He was succeeded by his sons William and James B.  Ro-
hers,  who  sunk a slope and built a breaker. They  operated  the
colliery  about  three  years, and were succeeded  by  Joseph  F.
Taylor,  who  worked the mine seven years.  His  successors  were
Wells  & Detwiler. Later a Boston company operated the  colliery,
which  has for some time been abandoned. East of Rohersville,  on
the  Reed  tract,  Mr. Taylor, above mentioned,  worked  a  small
colliery for a time.
     John Stanton opened on the Mammoth vein at Glen Carbon, with
drifts. He did a successful business for a time, and was succeed-
ed by William and Thomas Verver, who built a breaker and operated
ten years, mining 20,000 to 30,000 tons annually. Lucas & Denning
leased  the  colliery and worked it five years,  producing  fully
50,000  tons annually. A son of William Richardson, owner of  the
land,  succeeded them. Business soon suspended at this  colliery,
which was idle until it passed into the hands of the Philadelphia
and  Reading Coal and Iron Company. This colliery, known  as  the
Richardson colliery, produced 8,301 tons in 1876; 62,238 in 1877;
75,353 in 1878, and 111,229 in 1879.
    The  Glendower colliery was opened by Thomas  Schollenberger,
and  subsequently sold to the Philadelphia and Reading  Coal  and
Iron  Company.   In 1876, 24,479 tons were   produced;  in  1877,
58,497;  in 1878, 56,450; in 1879, 50,698. A very small  business
was  done at the Anchor colliery by the Philadelphia and  Reading
Coal and Iron Company in 1876 and 1877.
    Some years ago Joseph F. Taylor sunk a slope on the south dip
of the Mammoth vein, and built a breaker and a saw-mill to supply
the  colliery with lumber. He mined about 25,000 tons  per  annum
and was succeeded by Thomas Atwood. The Forest Improvement Compa-
ny were later operators. The present owners are the  Philadelphia
and Reading Coal and Iron Company.