The bituminous coal of West Virginia is a particularly good coking coal, and in 1905, 1906, 1907 and 1908 West Virginia ranked second (to Pennsylvania) among the states of the Union in the amount of coke manufactured; the Flat Top district is the principal cokemaking region.
This area is divided into nearly two equal parts - one, the Lei river coal-fields, yielding anthracite, and the other the Siang river coal-fields, yielding bituminous coal.
The state has two small areas in which bituminous coal occurs; one in the basin of the Dan and one in the basin of the Deep. Very little coal was produced in the state until the Civil War, when, in 1862 and again in 1863, 30,000 short tons were obtained for the relief of the Confederate government, an amount which up to 1905, when the yield was only 1557 short tons (falling off from 7000 short tons in 1904), had not since been equalled; in 1906, in 1907 and in 1908 no coal was mined in the state.
The mineral wealth of Ohio consists largely of bituminous coal and petroleum, but the state also ranks high in the production of natural gas, sandstone, limestone, grindstone, lime and gypsum.
Springfield is a trading and shipping centre for a prosperous agricultural region, and ships large quantities of bituminous coal from the immediate vicinity.
