Join the Sharon Historical Society, in collaboration with the Hermitage Historical Society, as we celebrate the release of our newest book, “Black Gold: Boomtowns, Prominent Men, and Grand Farmhouses of Hickory Township,” with a special lecture. In this lecture, we’ll explore the city of Hermitage’s past with this in-depth look at the “Sharon Block Coal” industry, the men responsible for its success, and the grand farmhouses and log cabins that once dotted the landscape during this transformational era. This event will celebrate the release of our newest book which is a full-color book with over 200 pages of in-depth research paired with historic and current photography.

Once the setting of bustling coal fields, Hickory Township – now the city of Hermitage, Pennsylvania – benefitted from “black gold” hidden beneath the surface of many of the area's farmlands. These rich deposits of “Sharon Block Coal,” with the help of the Erie Extension Canal, birthed a new industry for Mercer County. Like oil, coal had the power to make kings out of paupers; farmers were transformed into wealthy coal mine operators. With this newly gained wealth and power, the area's prominent residents from the 1830s through the 1920s built homes in a variety of popular or peculiar architectural styles of the era. Charles Koonce, General James Pierce, J. W. Ormsby, and others built grand homes to showcase their wealth. As coal mines began to “dry up” and many farmers went to work in the iron and steel mills in nearby Sharpsville, Sharon, and Farrell (originally South Sharon), what was Hickory Township’s population, began to decline. Boomtowns like Keel Ridge and Neshannock faded into distant memories. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the population, once again, grew when many of the “city folks” yearned for fresh air away from the fumes and noise of the industrialized cities of Sharpsville, Sharon, and Farrell. Suburban developments sprung up leading to commercialization. Into the 1960s, suburban shopping malls became the trend, and farmland areas, like Hermitage, prospered. Many of the grand homes of the Civil War era survive only in memory as they were demolished for development.

This lecture is provided by Taylor Galaska, President of the Board of Directors of the Sharon Historical Society. Galaska has been on the Board of Directors since 2014 when he joined at the age of 15. He has dedicated the last several years to researching the histories of hundreds of residences throughout the city of Sharon and the surrounding region of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. He became well-known for his social media postings featuring the histories of local homes during and after the pandemic. Galaska is a Sharon native, graduating from Kennedy Catholic High School in 2017. He went on to study at Westminster College where he earned a Bachelor’s in Marketing and Professional Sales, though his true passion is architectural history and historic preservation. This lecture is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. No reservations or tickets are required. The Apollo Maennerchor Club will have the downstairs bar open. Bring cash for the bar.

The event will be at the Apollo Maennerchor German Social Club, Second Floor Festhalle, 391 South Dock Street, Sharon, PA 16146 on Wednesday, August 30, 2023 at 6:00 pm.