The records of the Consolidation Coal Company (Consol) are skeletal and incomplete, being limited to corporate records from the company's record storage facility in Library, Pa. The surviving records are limited primarily to series from the Corporate Secretary's Office, including minute books and agreement and contract files. The company's historical photograph collection covering its operations in the Cumberland Field had been given previously to the Smithsonian Institution. Many early records, including some of the earliest Consol minutes and minutes of most of the Maryland predecessor companies, appear to have been lost in the great Baltimore Fire of 1904. Because the Pittsburgh Coal Company became the surviving parent and because Library was originally a Pittsburgh Coal Company facility, the records are disproportionally representative of the Pittsburgh Coal Company side of the family tree. The contract files are primarily from the Pittsburgh Coal Company and the Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company. Also represented among the minutes are the Fairmont Coal Company group and the Hanna Coal Company group, which were close enough to send records to Library. Conspicuously absent are any records from the Pocahontas Fuel Company group. The records of the Consolidation Coal Company and its affiliated companies are arranged in seven series. The most comprehensive documentation in this collection is provided by company minute books and contract files. Series I contains minute books of the Consolidation Coal Company for the period from 1902-1965. The bulk of these records are from 1902-1949. Included in this series are books containing the minutes of Stockholders', Board of Directors', Executive Committee, and Finance Committee meetings and records of the company's reorganization and receivership proceedings. Series II contains minute books of the Pittsburgh Coal Company for the period from 1894-1946. Included in this series are books containing the minutes of Stockholders', Board of Directors', Executive Committee, and Finance Committee meetings. Series III contains the minute books of companies associated with the Consolidation Coal Company for the period from 1854-1963. These records represent subsidiaries as well as merged companies and are arranged alphabetically. Series IV contains stockholders' records for the period from 1864-1940. The bulk of these records cover the period from 1892-1940. Included in this series are stock certificates, stock ledgers, and stock transfer books. Series V contains financial records for the period from 1864-1971. The bulk of these records cover the period from 1864-1950. Included in this series are journals and ledgers of the Consolidation Coal Company as well as payroll records from associated companies. Series VI contains contract files from the Secretary's office of the Consolidation Coal Company. These contracts are arranged in chronological order and include deeds, land purchases, leases, and other agreements. Series VII contains contract files from associated companies. Included in this series are agreements made by the Monongahela River Coke and Coal Company and the Fairmont Coal Company.
