Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania


Schuylkill County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 143,049. The county seat is Pottsville. The county is part of the Northeast Pennsylvania region of the state.
The county is part of the Pottsville micropolitan statistical area, and borders eight counties: Berks and Lebanon counties to its south, Dauphin and Northumberland counties to its west, Columbia and Luzerne counties to its north, and Carbon and Lehigh counties to its east. The county is approximately west of Allentown, the state's third-largest city, and northwest of Philadelphia, the state's largest city.
The county was created on March 1, 1811, from parts of Berks and Northampton counties and named for the Schuylkill River, which originates in the county. On March 3, 1818, additional territory in its northeast was added from Columbia and Luzerne counties.
WWW co.schuylkill.pa.us

History

18th century

The lands that constitute present-day Schuylkill County were acquired by William Penn's proprietors in a treaty executed August 22, 1749, with representatives of the Six Nations and the Delaware, Shamokin, and Shawnee tribes, who received 500 pounds in "lawful money of Pennsylvania". The acquired territory described included all of Schuylkill County except the northern part of Union Township, which was included in the purchase of 1768.
In 1744, an early mill was built in the county by John Finscher, but it later burned down.
In 1754, present-day Schuylkill, Berks, Dauphin, Lebanon, and Lehigh counties were settled by German immigrants. The earliest settlers in southeastern Schuylkill County, which was then part of Northampton County, were primarily Moravian Palatines from the Saxony region of Germany.
In 1755, the first log church was built in the county. Native American massacres were commonplace in Schuylkill County between 1755 and 1765. Warrant for tracts of land in the vicinity of McKeansburg were established as early as 1750.
In 1790, anthracite, a highly efficient form of coal then known as stone coal, was discovered near present-day Pottsville by Necho Allen.
In 1795, a blacksmith based in Schuylkill County known as Whetstone resolved the question of how to use anthracite successfully for blacksmithing purposes. In 1806, additional sources of coal were found as the tailrace was cut on the Schuylkill River. Daniel Berlin, another blacksmith, used it successfully, and blacksmiths in the county and surrounding Coal Region ultimately adopted its use, which represented a core industry, fuel source, and employment sector in the county throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.

19th century

Schuylkill County was created via an Act of Assembly on March 1, 1811, from portions of Berks and Northampton counties. More land was added to the county in 1818, from Columbia and Luzerne counties. At the time of its creation, the county had a population of about 6,000.
Orwigsburg was the first organized community in Schuylkill County. During the county's early years, there was an attempt to make McKeansburg the county seat; Orwigsburg was also a contender. Orwigsburg was selected as the county seat because it was deemed to be better suited for industries. Beginning in 1831, support for moving the county seat to Pottsville began gaining traction. In 1846, the state legislature passed an Act that was approved by Governor Francis R. Shunk on March 13, submitting the question to the voters. The change was desired principally because the railroad and canal connections with Orwigsburg were problematic while Pottsville had facilities and was within easy access from all parts of the county.
In 1812, George Shoemaker and Necho Allen discovered stone coal at Centerville in Schuylkill County, and personally delivered some of it to Philadelphia. He gave away most of the coal, intending to encourage individuals to find ways to use it. Most of the experiments failed, and Shoemaker was nearly run out of town and called an imposter but Mellon and Bishop of Delaware County successfully used it in their rolling mill. When other rolling mills also adopted the use of coal as fuel, a large industrial market and demand developed.
The Schuylkill Navigation Company was chartered in 1815 to build a series of navigation improvements in the Schuylkill River during a period when the much larger Erie Canal along the Mohawk River in New York state had already been developed and was well ahead of other key canals fueling the American Industrial Revolution, including the Delaware and Hudson, the Lehigh, the Chesapeake and Ohio, Delaware and Raritan, and Morris canals. The originators of the project did not count upon the coal trade to promote the success of the undertaking. They looked forward mainly to transporting the agricultural products being produced below the mountains, the lumber of Schuylkill County, and the grain and other products of the counties between the Susquehanna and Schuylkill rivers.
In 1822, in the first shipment of coal on the line, 1,480 tons of coal were transported from present-day Schuylkill County.
With a regular supply of anthracite coal ensured, the southern anthracite coal field in Schuylkill County attracted speculators and fortune hunters. They were inspired by dreams of becoming millionaires. This was the first speculative era of the Schuylkill coal trade. Pottsville became the center of the movement. The more successful explorers revealed numerous veins of coal, extending over a vast stretch of county and with a seemingly inexhaustible quantity of coal. These discoveries brought excitement and speculation; lands were bought and sold; roads were laid out in the forest, mines were opened and railroads projected, and innumerable town plots planned. The demand for houses was so great that the lumber for many was framed in Philadelphia and sent by canal to the burgeoning coal region.
At this stage, coal mining firms were predominantly small and family owned. The residents and entrepreneurs of the Schuylkill region opposed the entry here of incorporated coal companies. In these years, coal mining operations in the Schuylkill region were conducted with economy, and relatively little capital was required. As the workings were all above the water level, no machinery was required for water drainage or for hoisting coal to the surface. Coal breakers and other expensive fixtures and appliances for the preparation of coal had not then been introduced. Numerous operators produced from five to six thousand tons for market annually, which was then considered a respectable business, who had never committed thousands of dollars to their enterprises, including their first land purchases of coal mines. Coal land could be bought and mines opened for less capital than the purchase and stocking of a decent farm, and coal mines could be worked for less capital than that required to establish a line of stagecoaches or transportation wagons.
Railroads ultimately replaced the canals as the primary means of transporting coal to markets. Mining was taken over by major corporate business, especially after the Civil War. As a result, the Middle Coal Field was developed in the 1860s and the [Reading Company|Philadelphia and Reading, Pennsylvania|Reading Railroad] created a subsidiary, Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, to buy or lease, and develop the expanding industrial coal trade. Consumption of coal along the Schuylkill above Philadelphia in 1839 was 30,290 tons when Pottsville, the first anthracite furnace in the United States, became operational. By 1849, consumption had increased to 239,290 tons, to 554,774 tons in 1859, and to 1,787,205 tons in 1873.
The numerous jobs in the mining industry comprised a catalyst for mass immigration to Schuylkill County from the British Isles and Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. As mines became more numerous and more complex, mechanical breakers, steam locomotive, it became more labor-intensive both for accomplishing mining tasks and supporting mining's peripheral industries. Such industries included manufacturing of explosives, metal screens, pump components, piping, and timber for support. This led to an influx of population into Schuylkill and other anthracite counties to fill these jobs.
Beginning with the Irish immigration in the 1840s, which was fueled by the Great Famine and followed the end of the Civil War, immigrants from Eastern Europe, including Poles, Hungarians, Lithuanians, Slovaks, Rusyns, Ukrainians, and Belarusians, often from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, settled in Schuylkill County and labored in the county coal mines. By the 1880s and 1890s, thousands of Italians immigrated to the county in pursuit of mining jobs.

20th century

The anthracite mining industry peaked in production in 1917 and subsequently declined with the exception of periods during World War I and World War II. In the 1950s and 1960s, underground mining operations closed in Schuylkill County and throughout the Coal Region and surface mining became predominate.
On November 5, 1934, the eve of the 1934 United States elections, a parade marched through Kelayres in Kline Township. A crowd of Democratic Party supporters walked toward the home of Republican Party leader Joseph Bruno. Frustration with Bruno family's control of the school board and other local offices had been growing for years. Shots were fired from the Bruno home and yard located at Fourth and Centre Streets. Several people were killed and more than 20 marchers were injured.
YearProduction Net Number of Employees
195044,076,70372,624
195526,204,55433,523
196018,817,44119,051
196514,865,95511,132
20161,500,000952

In 2016, Schuylkill County had six underground mines and 25 surface mines operating, producing 62,000 tons and 833,000 tons of coal, respectively. In 2024, Schuylkill County had four underground mines and 17 surface mines operating, producing 52,000 and 1,624,000 tons of coal, respectively Operators today are re-mining areas of anthracite that were previously mined. It is estimated that 98 percent of the anthracite produced is from existing mines.

Business and industry

Farming history

Schuylkill County's history is not solely a story about coal mining and railroads. The first settlers were farmers or lumbermen. In the fertile agricultural valleys between the Blue Mountain range in the south to near the Susquehanna River to the north, generations of farming families have helped feed their neighbors in the mines, on the rails, on the canals, and in the towns within and surrounding the county. After settlement of the farms, came a period of diversified, small scale production that lasted until about the late 19th century. After then, more highly mechanized small farms combined livestock and crop production for new, mainly local and regional markets. Then the system re-oriented to add orchard products, trees and plant products and poultry farming.
In 2012, the estimated value of agricultural products in Schuylkill County sold was $165,853,000, ranking 9th in the State and 704th in the US. The county ranks in the top 100 in the US counties for nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod products and cut Christmas trees and short rotation woody crops.

Railroad history

In the early 19th century, southern Schuylkill County was served by the Union Canal out of Pine Grove Township with connections west, and the Schuylkill Canal southward from [Port Carbon County, Pennsylvania|Carbon, Pennsylvania|Port Carbon] to Philadelphia. Coal mined by the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company in the Tamaqua and Coaldale areas was often shipped down the Lehigh Canal from Jim Thorpe in neighboring Carbon County. To the north, mountain and ridges were a natural barrier to navigation.
Other means were required to transport coal out of the rich basin of the Mahanoy Valley. Several railroads were founded in the late 1820s and early 1830s north of the Schuylkill Canal to enable the transport of coal to the canal terminus in Philadelphia and other markets, including:
Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad served the Schuylkill Canal. Chartered in 1831, tracks were laid from the flats in Schuylkill Haven along the river through Cressona and Minersville to Tremont. The railroad eventually reached Ashland and Locust Gap via the Gordon Planes.
Construction on the Little Schuylkill Railroad began in 1829. It ran from Port Clinton northward to Mahanoy Junction above Tamaqua. It would become the keystone of the Philadelphia and Reading system, serving as a gauntlet for its eastern and western branches. Connecting with it were four important lines. The Catawissa Railroad operated from Mahanoy Junction to West Milton, providing access to the Mahanoy region by joining the northern terminus of the Little Schuylkill with connections to New York City, Scranton and also points west. At Port Clinton, it connected with the P&R's main line from Mount Carbon. Its most important connection would be with the Mahanoy and Broad Mountain Railway via Mahanoy Tunnel and East Mahanoy Railroad.
There was once over of railroad track in Schuylkill County. At one point in the 19th century, the largest railyard and roundhouse in the world was located at Mill Creek between Pottsville and St. Clair.

Renewable energy

Since the early 21st century, Schuylkill County has decreased its use of coal power and become a major producer of renewable energy. Twenty-five percent of the county's electrical production currently comes from renewable energy sources. Wind power is the largest producer, accounting for 80% of the renewable energy output, while solar and biomass account for 20%.
The Locust Ridge wind turbines in the north of the county produce enough electricity for 37,500 homes, equivalent to the 48 MW of electricity generated by the Wheelabrator Frackville's waste coal plant.

Textile industry history

Textile manufacturing evolved as a major industry in the county near the beginning of the 20th Century. Phillips & Jones Co., Now known as Phillips Van Heusen, began in Pottsville, and was once Schuylkill County's largest employer. Another textile giant, John E. Morgan Knitting Mills, began manufacturing in 1945 in Tamaqua, eventually becoming the largest employer in the county in the between 1970 and 1980. In addition there were numerous smaller shops all over the county, doing subcontract work for major manufacturers all over the nation.
In the latter half of the 20th century, the textile industry, which employed significant numbers of women, began to rival the coal mining industry in size, especially after the end of World War II, when that industry began to collapse. As a consequence of the Great Depression, garment manufacturers began to look for people willing to work at lower wages outside of New York City, the center of the industry. Pennsylvania became the third-highest ranked apparel manufacturer in the United States by 1940. Women's clothing became the state's fastest growing product.
The dominance of the industry in Schuylkill County lasted until the last decade of the 20th century, when it was clear that the garment manufacturing industry was leaving Schuylkill County and other regions of the U.S. and moving to foreign countries. By 2011, only six manufacturers employing 341 people remained in the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
The Schuylkill River headwaters are found in the county, starting in the Appalachian Mountains, and flows through many towns and the city of Reading, Pennsylvania, to Philadelphia where it flows into the Delaware River. The Schuylkill drains the majority of the county while some western and northern areas of the county are drained by the Susquehanna River. The Swatara Creek, Wiconisco Creek, Mahantango Creek, Mahanoy Creek, and Catawissa Creek all start in Schuylkill County and are tributaries of the Susquehanna. Areas of the eastern portion of the county drain into the Lehigh River via the Quakake Creek, Nesquehoning Creek, Mahoning Creek, and Lizard Creek, all of which also start in the county. To the south, southern Schuylkill county is home to Blue Mountain and the Appalachian Trail. Broad Mountain crosses the county from northeast to southwest.
Schuylkill County is located in northeastern Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It is located just north of the Lehigh Valley and Reading metropolitan areas. Portions of eastern Schuylkill County around Tamaqua are located in the Pocono Mountains. As a result, like other portions of the Poconos, eastern Schuylkill has experienced an influx of people from New York City and New Jersey who commute into Manhattan each day. The commute can take up to two hours each way due to distance and traffic. Far western areas of the county are located near Harrisburg and are sometimes considered to be located in South Central Pennsylvania.

Climate

The county has a humid continental climate with four distinct seasons. The hardiness zone is 6b in most of the county, 7a in lowlands of the south-central and SW areas of the county and upriver to Pottsville and Minersville, and 6a in small higher northern areas. Average monthly temperatures in the vicinity of downtown Pottsville range from 27.3 °F in January to 72.3 °F in July, while in Mahanoy City they range from 24.3 °F in January to 69.3 °F in July.

Adjacent counties

Interstates, US Routes, and State Routes
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Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 143,049. The median age was 45.6 years. 19.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 105.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.3 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 89.6% White, 3.1% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.6% from some other race, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.6% of the population.
52.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 47.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 57,950 households in the county, of which 25.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 45.0% were married-couple households, 20.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 67,128 housing units, of which 13.7% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.8% were owner-occupied and 25.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.0%.

Micropolitan statistical area

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has designated Schuylkill County as the Pottsville, PA micropolitan statistical area . As of the 2010 U.S. census the micropolitan area ranked the number 1 most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 5th most populous in the United States with a population of 148,289.

Law and government

The Schuylkill County Sheriff's Department consists of the Sheriff's Office and operates the Central Booking unit. The Sheriff's Office is composed of a Civil and Criminal Division. The Civil Division processes real estate and property paperwork, as well as issue firearms permits. The Criminal Division is responsible for the security of the courthouses, as well as the transportation of prisoners to and from court hearings and to other correctional facilities. The Sheriff's Department is also responsible for detecting and interdicting weapons before they can enter the courthouse and making criminal arrests of persons when weapons are found. The Sheriff's Department provides all facets of security for the County courthouse and makes arrests inside the courthouse for various offenses including possession of weapons and controlled substances as well as the arrest of disorderly persons and other violations of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code Title 18. All Deputy Sheriffs are sworn law enforcement officers who must attend the state Sheriff Academy in State College to be certified as a Deputy Sheriff. The Sheriff Academy is a paramilitary Sheriff academy that consists of 6 months of intense training in all facets of criminal and civil law of Pennsylvania as well as physical training, self defense training, weapons certification and training, as well as tactical training, training in handcuffing and restraint, courtroom and courthouse security, and conducting security assessments of Courthouse and courtroom facilities. Central Booking processes fingerprints and photographs of arrested individuals. When requested by other police agencies, the Sheriff's Department performs patrol duties in various communities within Schuylkill county and provides support to other Police agencies during major incidents, search warrant executions, arrest warrant operations, special events and in various other capacities.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Source:

Pennsylvania Senate

United States House of Representatives

United States Senate

Education

Colleges and universities

Public school districts

School districts include:

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: [List of List of cities in Pennsylvania|cities in Pennsylvania|cities], [List of towns and List of towns and boroughs in Pennsylvania|boroughs in Pennsylvania|boroughs], [List of List of townships in Pennsylvania|townships in Pennsylvania|townships], and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Schuylkill County:

City

Boroughs

Townships

Census-designated places

Census-designated places are unincorporated communities designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law.

Other unincorporated communities

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Schuylkill County.
† county seat
RankCity/Town/etc.Municipal typePopulation
1† 'PottsvilleCity14,324
2TamaquaBorough7,107
3Schuylkill HavenBorough5,437
4ShenandoahBorough5,071
5MinersvilleBorough4,397
6Mahanoy CityBorough4,162
7FrackvilleBorough3,805
8OrwigsburgBorough3,099
9St. ClairBorough3,004
10Ashland Borough2,817
11Lake WynonahCDP2,640
12McAdooBorough2,300
13CoaldaleBorough2,281
14Pine GroveBorough2,186
15Port CarbonBorough1,889
16TremontBorough1,752
17Valley ViewCDP1,683
18CressonaBorough1,651
19GirardvilleBorough1,519
20HometownCDP1,349
21Tower CityBorough1,346
22Shenandoah HeightsCDP1,233
23New PhiladelphiaBorough1,085
24Palo AltoBorough1,032
25TuscaroraCDP980
26FriedensburgCDP858
27RingtownBorough818
28HeginsCDP812
29GilbertonBorough769
30GordonBorough763
31LavelleCDP742
32AuburnBorough741
33Deer LakeBorough687
34RavineCDP662
35MarlinCDP661
36AltamontCDP602
37RenningersCDP574
38Park CrestCDP542
39KelayresCDP533
40EnglewoodCDP532
41MechanicsvilleBorough457
42MuirCDP451
43CumbolaCDP443
44ForestvilleCDP435
45Nuremberg CDP434
46ReinertonCDP424
47MiddleportBorough405
48BranchdaleCDP388
49SeltzerCDP350
50DelanoCDP342
51DonaldsonCDP328
52Port ClintonBorough326
53OrwinCDP314
54Fountain SpringsCDP278
55New RinggoldBorough276
56NewtownCDP243
57Grier CityCDP241
58ShepptonCDP239
59HeckschervilleCDP220
60OneidaCDP200
61BrandonvilleCDP197
62Locustdale CDP177
63Buck RunCDP176
64Summit StationCDP174
65McKeansburgCDP163
66LandingvilleBorough159
67KlingerstownCDP127
68Beurys LakeCDP124
69Mount Carbon'Borough91

Notable people