Georges Creek Valley is located in Allegany County, Maryland along the Georges Creek. The valley is rich in wide veins of coal, known historically as "The Big Vein." Coal was once extracted by deep mines but is only mined today through surface mining. The Georges Creek Valley was once a major center for the US coal industry.
Lonaconing, Maryland, one of the towns in the valley
Table of Cumberland Coal Trade Production Levels 1842-1865
Image: Allegany coal basin
Allegany County, Maryland
Allegany County is located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,106. Its county seat is Cumberland. The name Allegany may come from a local Lenape word, welhik hane or oolikhanna, which means 'best flowing river of the hills' or 'beautiful stream'. A number of counties and a river in the Appalachian region of the U.S. are named Allegany, Allegheny, or Alleghany. Allegany County is part of the Cumberland metropolitan area. It is a part of the Western Maryland "panhandle".
Allegany County Courthouse
A 10-dollar note from the Allegany County Bank from 1860.
I-68 and US 40 in Allegany County
Image: Allegany County Urban Areas