See tour information and history of this mine here – Brooks Mine Nay Aug Park
In January of 2022 we stood outside the entrance to the Brooks Mine in Nay Aug Park, Scranton. We made the decision right then and there that we needed to bring this unique treasure back into the public light. We began meeting with the Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority with our ideas and they were just as excited as we were! Next, we met with the PA Anthracite State Mine Inspectors office, who also gave us some guidelines, requirements, and the go ahead to proceed. Once these all were met, we entered the mine for a feasibility study. We determined that the mine was a fine state to be rehabilitated back into something that park visitors could experience once again!
In April of 2022, coal miners, timber men, and laborers within our group began volunteer weekend work to reopen the 120-year-old Historic Brooks Drift Mine, cleaning debris, retimbering and reopened to the public on 8/12/23! This entire project could not be completed without the generosity of the community! It has been completely funded by donations from local individuals and businesses who want to see this succeed.
Thank you to our Project Sponsors!
Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority
R&R Logging LLC
Casey-Kassa Coal Company
Jeddo Coal Company
Alfred Brown Coal Company
Atlantic Carbon Group
Earth Conservancy
JP Reilly Construction
Blackwatch Café Patrons
Sue Hand’s Imagery
JFK Division Ancient Order of Hibernians
Geo Explorers Inc
Powell’s Equipment Rental
Meshoppen Stone
And countless individual donors, online and in person!
The Brooks Mine Restoration Crew
Back Row: Banks Ries, Mike Borzell, Isaac Walker, Bill Best, Justin Ballard, Gerry Babinski, Frank Borzell, Scott Kerkowski, Dan Shurtleff, Chris Murley
Front Row: Alfred Shone, Devin Purcell, Mark Izak, Greg Bock, Adam Zuroski
New mine map, surveyed by Jason Tarnowski PLS, showing the mine and our new escapeway.
