Asa Lansford Foster (August 19, 1798 – January 9, 1868) was a

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

n geologist, merchant, and

coal mine Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

owner. He was also a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

, mining

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

, and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and was one of the pioneers of the anthracite industry. He was a native of Massachusetts but immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1818. Foster married Louisa Trott Chapman.

Early life

Foster was born on August 19, 1798 in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He received a

common school A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary ...

education. In 1818, he immigrated to Pennsylvania from

Rowe, Massachusetts Rowe is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 424 at the 2020 census. History Rowe was the site of fishing and foraging for local Native American tribes. The area was first visited by white settlers in 1 ...

Coal mining

Between 1827 and 1834, Foster worked for the Lehigh Coal Company. He frequently studied the geology of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

formations and became an expert in that field. Foster was among the leading experts on the geology of the

Coal Region The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons. The region is typically defined as compri ...

. After 1837, Foster founded the Buck Mountain Coal Company, of which he was a superintendent and significant stockholder. The coal company opened in 1838. Foster then constructed

wharves A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

, tunnels,

inclined plane An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

s, and a four-mile railroad for the purpose of transporting the coal of the Buck Mountain Coal Company to a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

near Rockport. In the autumn of 1840 the coal company started to ship anthracite. The company was initially successful, but failed in the winter of 1841. After the Buck Mountain Coal Company failed, Foster became the financial manager for Daniel Bertsch, an early mine operator. He also conducted the Council Ridge Colliery's mining and made a profit from it. One of the first tunnels in the Panther Creek valley was driven by Foster. He helped develop a number of other mining operations in the Panther Valley and aided in the development of a stove to efficiently burn anthracite.

Other work

After coming to Pennsylvania, Foster became involved in the mercantile industry in Bloomsburg and Berwick with his brother. In 1826 Foster ceased his work in this industry and moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. There he temporarily received a position in a

wholesale Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

house. In 1827 he moved to the community of Mauch Chunk (now

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Nativ ...

). Upon arriving there, Foster established a store which became a supply point for much of the area between the Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers. He sold the store in 1837. Foster founded Mauch Chunk's first

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

in 1829. It was called the ''Lehigh Pioneer and Mauch Chunk Courier'', but later renamed ''Mauch Chunk Courier'' and was for a long time the only newspaper in the Lehigh Valley. He sold the newspaper in 1842. Foster co-founded the community of

Eckley Miners' Village Eckley Miners' Village in eastern Pennsylvania is an anthracite coal mining patch town located in Foster Township, Pennsylvania. Since 1970, Eckley has been owned and operated as a museum by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Hi ...

Personal life

Foster married Louisa Trott Chapman on August 24, 1822, in Wilkes-Barre. He had six children. They were Thomas Lansford Foster (born 1823) and Charles Edward Foster (born 1826), Mary Chapman Foster (born 1829), Elizabeth Reed Foster (born 1832), Louisa Foster (born 1835), and Marion Foster (born 1836). Thomas Lansford Foster and Charles Edward Foster were born in Bloomsburg. His life was consistently lived in a Christian way. He served as a

communicant The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

for the

Protestant Episcopal Church The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

. Foster supported the Federalist, Whig, and then the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

political parties. He was also a good swimmer. Foster was a supporter of public schools.

Death and legacy

Foster died in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

, on January 9, 1868, at the age of 71, while visiting his friends. He was buried in the

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania Jim Thorpe is a borough and the county seat of Carbon County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is historically known as the burial site of Native American sports legend Jim Thorpe. Jim Thorpe is l ...

. The Pennsylvania community of Lansford is named after Foster. Foster Township, in

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

, is also named for him.

References