Helvetia, Pennsylvania

[1] What drew investors to this portion of Brady Township was a vast, six-foot coal seam lying just beneath the surface of cultivated fields and timber stands.

Lands and mineral rights in this portion of Brady Township—some 7,000 to 8,000 acres (2,800 to 3,200 ha)—were secretly purchased and consolidated in the late 1880s and early 1890s by Adrian Iselin, a New York investment banker.

The mine was serviced via the Mahoning Valley Railroad, a one-and-three-quarter-mile-long spur built by Adrian Iselin to connect with the BR&P rail network at Stanley.

The surviving Helvetia ledger, local tax records, and several pieces of correspondence make it clear that Adrian Iselin began construction of the coal plant, offices, worker housing, the company store, and other town facilities in late 1890.

By 1892, the industrial plant for the mine had grown considerably to include a blacksmith shop, a general office building, a steam saw and shingle mill, the powerhouse and its related machinery, and the tipple.

In June of that same year, the newspaper noted that work on the coke ovens was progressing and that "Helvetia will soon be sending her light heavenward to mark her location as well as her sister mining towns."

Iselin's ledger book shows rental income for the first time on February 28, 1891, for a modest $52.07 for the month, while Helvetia Supply Co. stocks sale reached $351.64 for the same period.