Campus News
September 16th, 2025
Rise and fall of a Garrett County coal town
Rada discusses Shallmar history, including inspirational holiday story
Author James Rada, Jr. was this month's Joan Crawford Lecture Series presenter.
Author James Rada, Jr. used last Wednesday's Joan Crawford Lecture Series event to recount the rise and fall of a local coal community – and how its economic devastation led to a nationwide outpouring of assistance to the families of Shallmar.
Rada, author of Saving Shallmar: Christmas Spirit in a Coal Town, recounted the establishment of the unincorporated town that was "two miles upriver from Kitzmiller." He summarized the highs and lows of the coal town's history, but devoted much of his lecture to the winter of 1949, when national publicity about the town's plight led to donations of food, clothing, toys, and money to address the impact of the town's economic collapse.
Wilbur Marshall established the town of Shallmar – which came from transposing the entrepreneur's last name – in 1917 to serve as the site of his Wolf Den Coal Company.
"They got off to a good start," said Rada, noting that coal "was in high demand" during World War I. "He put together a very attractive town for coal miners. He built high-quality one- and two-story houses along with a boarding house for single miners.
"At its peak the town maxed out at around 500 residents," added Rada. "Only about 100 actually worked for the mine company, but others worked in the company store and the school. The two-room schoolhouse also doubled as the union meeting hall.
"Shallmar had running water with fresh, cold, mountain water because they built a pipeline from the spring into the town," Rada continued. "They had electricity to run the mines, and sold off excess electricity to miners at a reasonable price."
Unfortunately, the good times didn't last. Wolf Den Mine's annual coal tons mined dropped from a high of 108,479 to just 22,574 by 1939. A succession of owners tried to make the mine sustainable, but Rada said by 1948, "the mine was open just 36 days the entire year."
In 1949, the mine closed in March, leading to a dismal domino effect.
"Shallmar's unemployment rate was about 90 percent," Rada said. "You had a company store manager, some teachers, and a few mine company workers still employed."
Rada said J. Paul Andrick, the principal of the town school, took up the mission of obtaining help for a community that was literally starting to starve.
"He started packing extra lunches to take to school and gave them to the kids who seemed to be the hungriest," recounted Rada. "He eventually wrote a letter to The Republican newspaper about the town's plight."
The letter ran in December 1949 with the headline "Shallmar Residents Near Starvation: Urgent Appeal for Food, Clothing, and Cash". While the letter resulted in local gifts, the best outcome was that it led to Shallmar's plight going national.
"A national radio program reported on the situation," Rada said. "People started doing fundraisers for the town – food, clothing, toys for the kids. The Salvation Army and all types of regional service organizations got involved. Letters with money and checks started pouring in.
"Donations continued coming in even after Christmas – an estimated $30,000 in food, toys, and clothing, and $7,000 in cash. They had enough excess that they went around and helped out some really struggling coal towns that dotted the North Branch of the Potomac [River].
"All of the publicity spurred the state to finally take action," said Rada. "They approved $300,000 for unemployed miners statewide."
The feel-good Christmas didn't solve the town's ongoing issues, Rada said.
"The mine finally closed for good in the mid-1960s," he said. "The writing was on the wall – coal mining was on the decline, especially among small companies."
There are still a few signs of the town's existence – but not many.
"The company store building and superintendent's home are still there," said Rada.
Notes: Rada is also a fiction author and newspaper contributor. His newswriting has been honored by the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, the Associated Press, and the Maryland State Teachers Association.
More information on Rada's writings may be found on his website, www.jamesrada.com.
The Joan Crawford Lecture Series honors dynamic educator Joan R. Crawford, who died in 2010 after serving the Garrett College community for 30 years in a variety of faculty and staff roles. JCLS presentations are offered free of charge, and the public and community members are invited to attend.
The next Joan Crawford Lecture Series presentation will be "Energy Resources of Garrett County: A History Of (Almost) All-Of-The-Above" by Chris Nichols, scheduled for Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at 6 p.m.
