It is unclear when coal mining began in North Carolina. It seems certain though that by 1775 at least one mine, the Horton Mine, was in operation near the present town of Gulf. The coal was mined in the area on a small scale for the next seventy-five years to supply local needs.

In 1852, with the Civil War just eight years away, the first attempts at high production mining along the Deep River began. The main shaft of the Egypt mine (Cumnock) was sunk. It struck a vein at 430 feet and mining operations were started. The first coal from the Egypt mine was brought up in 1855.

Around 1921, the Carolina Coal Company developed a mine on the site of the old Farmville village on the Chatham County side of the Deep River, less than two miles east of the Cumnock Mine. During 1949 approximately 14,000 tons of coal was produced from the Carolina mine. However, because the coal seam is deeply buried and badly broken by numerous dissecting faults, production in the Deep River area ceased in 1953 and has not resumed since.

Adandoned Mine Land (AML)

Since the early 1980’s the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, through the Federal Reclamation Program (FRP), has spent over $160,000 eliminating safety issues and restoring abandoned coal mine lands in North Carolina. Work completed includes:

• Closure of five vertical openings including the main entries for the Carolina and Cumnock Mines.

Active mining is not currently being performed within this state. Adandoned mine land (AML) issues are handled by AR's Technical Support Division (TSD).