According to records, the first application to extract coal from a seam in the ‘Hettberger Holtz’ was submitted in 1714. At first, several farmers from the region were shareholders in this field. In 1743, Baron Friedrich Christian Theodor von Elverfeldt bought all their shares for 140 Reichstaler. The male descendants of the noble von Elverfeldt family went on to spend more than a century as entrepreneurs in the coal business.

Numerous other collieries near Hettberg mined coal beside and above one another. At first, the prevailing mining technique was tunnel construction. Horizontal tunnels were dug into mountains and coal was extracted by hand.

To reach deeper seams, ‘underground structures’ were built. From there, coal and water were transported through sloped shafts in buckets and crates to the surface. Access to these tunnel mines was via so-called ‘Mundlöcher’. Some of which can still be seen today in Muttental.

Mining operations of this early phase differed greatly from modern mining in terms of organisational structure. In the 1750s and 60s, for example, a maximum of eight miners worked in the Nachtigall mine, who – as was the custom – were only employed on a daily or weekly basis, depending on the order situation. Around 1800, ten miners worked in various roles at the Nachtigall tunnel mine: coal cutters and rock cutters for tunnel construction and extraction, as well as cart drivers who used pushcarts to transport coal from the mining site to the tunnel mouth. In 1806, the old carts were replaced with wagons conveyed by rail.

Prussia attempted to bring the privately operated mines in the Ruhr under state control, boost coal sales and secure its royal tithe –compulsory taxes – through new laws and administrative structures, including the 1738 establishment of the Märkisches Bergamt (Märkish Mining Authority) in Bochum.

After conducting inspections, the mining supervisors and appointed experts concurred in their negative assessments of mining in the Mark Brandenburg. They attested to disorder in the ‘mining economy’ and overexploitation. After an inspection tour of 28 Ruhr mines on behalf of the Prussian King Frederick II, Chief Mining Councillor, Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Reden, criticised the poor state of mining in the County of Mark (Grafschaft Mark). He lamented the mining authorities’ lack of control and inadequate accounting, summarising: ‘Everyone does what they want!’

The 1766 Revised Mining Regulations established the state’s administration of coal mines in the Ruhr region . However, the so-called ‘executive principle’ (Direktionsprinzip) could only be implemented gradually.

In 1851, Ludwig von Elverfeldt sold his Steinhausen estate and his shares in the coal mines to a group of wealthy Dutch investors who saw mining in the Ruhr region as a promising investment opportunity. They took over a coal mine that was equipped with state-of-the-art technology and excellent coal reserves.

The investors advanced expansion by investing in technical equipment, transport links to the colliery and the consolidation of Vereinigte Nachtigall, Vereinigte Nachtigall & Aufgottgewagt, Wiederlage and Theresia collieries into Nachtigall United Mining(Vereinigte Nachtigall Tiefbau). In the 1850s and 1860s, the consolidated mining operation employed between 300 and 500 miners. At that time, it was one of the largest mines in the region in terms of both employment and coal production.

The mine now had three shafts: the Neptun shaft, the Catharina shaft of the former Theresia colliery and the Hercules shaft. Addition sinking turned the latter  into the main extraction shaft of the colliery.

In the years that followed, the colliery expanded its surface facilities and built, among other things, a boiler house, the machine house (which still stands today) and the workshop buildings. The colliery always used the most modern methods available: in 1855, it introduced the use of horses to haul underground..

The Ruhr mining industry’s most powerful steam engine at the time (500 hp) went into operation at Nachtigall in 1857. In 1876, modern rope transport was introduced: from then on, miners descended the shaft in cages suspended by rope. In 1876, the Hercules shaft reached its maximum depth of 450 metres. Coal production peaked at 100,000 tonnes in 1878. Nachtigall Tiefbau Colliery had  expanded to an extent that did not increase significantly before it was closed in 1892.

The mine struggled with heavy water inflows until its closure. The 1871 annual report of the Nachtigall Tiefbau Colliery addressed the vexing issue of water on numerous occasions, as water inflow repeatedly caused the colliery to suffer production losses. Operational disruptions became more frequent. By 1882, only 295 miners were still working at the Nachtigall mine. Coal production declined.

The merger with Helene Tiefbau Colliery on the other side of the Ruhr in Heven seemed like a lifeline. Plans were made to mine new seams under the Ruhr Valley, and the hope was that this would make it easier to finance the necessary investments. However, the colliery overextended itself with new investments and was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1887. Finally, in 1890, the Dortmund Mining Company purchased the mine. They were interested in the rich mining fields of Helene. Nachtigall, on the other hand, was to be abandoned due to its lack of profitability. The Dortmund Mining Company dissolved the Helene-Nachtigall union.

On February 23^rd, 1892, so-called ‘robbery’ of Nachtigall began: machinery and other mining equipment were sold off. On October 14^th,1891, the Wittener Zeitung (Witten’s newspaper) wrote about the Nachtigall Colliery’s impending demise :

"Unfortunately, it won't be long before our old Nachtigall Colliery, which provides bread and livelihoods for so many residents of our town (...),works its last shift and shuts down. The main reason for the shutdown is the water calamity (...). In 3-4 months, all the machinery will likely be dismantled, leaving the colliery under water and at a standstill. We are pleased to announce that all workers and officials who were laid off on October 1st have found other work and positions."

Within a short period of time, three neighbouring underground mines in the Hardenstein district – Louisenglück, Nachtigall and, most recently in 1906, Ver. Bommerbänker Tiefbau – ceased operations. They were unable to compete with the new, larger mines in the Emscher and Hellweg zones. They had better storage conditions, the capacity to coke coal for iron smelting and had larger coal deposits.