Jesse Fell was an early political leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He was the first to successfully burn anthracite coal on an open air grate. His method and 'discovery' in 1808 led to the widespread use of coal as the fuel source that helped to foster America's industrial revolution. He lived in the Fell House and Tavern until his death. The House stood until the 1980s when Wyoming Valley Health Care demolished it to build an unused parking lot. The bricks used to build the house are now in the house of Wayne Segar in Bear Creek Pennsylvania. However the grate is still in wonderful shape as a treasure of the once successful Valley.
The grate used by Fell is in the possession of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society.
References
- Oscar Jewel Harvey, History of Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley
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