Area Attractions

Eckley Miners Village

A Village frozen in time.

Founded in 1854, Eckley is an example of a planned nineteenth century coal mining town. It is a community, or coal “patch town,” which provided mining families with the basic necessities such as housing and medical care, as well as basic amenities like a store, a school and churches. Companies often designed and constructed industrial communities to house their employees in close proximity to the collieries, or mining operations, for which they worked. Such mining towns were built to attract other mining families to live and work among the coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania. While the company greatly influenced the lives of its village residents, and each family member faced challenges and difficulties every day. The way in which they faced these challenges is the history of the region that is studied, preserved and interpreted. Visit Eckley Miners Village Website Visit the Eckley Miners Village Photo Gallery

MMI Preparatory School

To understand why MMI has such a commitment to providing a quality education to all students who are willing to accept the challenge, you have to know a bit about our history.

In the late 1800s, Eckley B. Coxe, a captain of the coal industry, recognized the profound need for American technical schools for students who would otherwise not have such an opportunity. On May 7, 1879, Coxe opened the Industrial School for Miners and Mechanics. Eleven young men worked in the coal mines by day, then attended two-hour classes six nights a week.

Deep in the heart of the Northeastern Pennsylvania coal belt, MMI began improving lives. An MMI education often meant the difference between the hardscrabble life of a laborer and that of a certified miner, a foreman, or even a superintendent. While most of MMI's early students managed coal mines, some went off to college. Many returned to the mines as engineers and worked to ease and improve the work environment of thousands. Visit MMI Preparatory School Website Visit the MMI Preparatory School Photo Gallery