Black Gold: Boomtowns, Prominent Men, and Grand Farmhouses of Hickory Township by Taylor Galaska (216 pages, paperback, 6 x 9")

“Black Gold: Boomtowns, Prominent Men, and Grand Farmhouses of Hickory Township” is a deluxe, full-color book chronicling the history of the founding of Hickory Township (what is now Hermitage, Pa.) and the several “boomtowns” that dotted the landscape as Sharon Block Coal was discovered during the Civil War era. This publication, a collaborative project with the Hermitage Historical Society, will offer readers an in-depth look into America’s Civil War period with detailed 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. 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.