This colliery was originally (briefly) named the Audenreid. It opened in 1870 with the sinking of a shaft on the land of John Stanton, by the Wilkes-Barre Coal and Iron Company. In 1880, the name was changed to the Stanton No 7 Colliery, operated by the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal Company.
The Stanton had a difficult lifespan. On May 6th, 1879, the underground workings caught fire. On May 18th, 1879, twelve days later, the breaker was destroyed by fire, causing the death of six men fighting the blaze. In 1909, the breaker and surrounding buildings were again destroyed by fire. In 1914, a tornado damaged the colliery, the last significant tornado to occur in the area until 2018. The breaker was destroyed by fire one last time in 1932, and would not reopen. This was a devastating blow to the miners in the Wilkes-Barre area.
Historic photos from the UGM archive.
These pictures are taken from the remaining buildings at the Stanton Colliery, near the cross of Stanton and South Empire Streets. On site also remains a capped muleway and a filled in haulage shaft.
Sources:
“The Breakers of the Northern Anthracite Coalfield of Pennsylvania,” Richard G. Healey, Ph.D
Northerfield.info, Frank Adams