The Coal Boom that Led to the Shenango Valley’s Rise to Industrial Significance

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.

Taylor Galaska, President of the Board of Directors of the Sharon Historical Society, is a Sharon, Pennsylvania native. He has served 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 COVID-19 pandemic. Graduating from Kennedy Catholic High School in 2017, he went on to study at Westminster College in New Wilmington where he earned a Bachelor’s in Marketing and Professional Sales, though his true passion has always been architectural history and historic preservation. By day, Galaska is the Guesthouse Supervisor of Buhl Mansion Guesthouse & Spa, and Marketing Manager for Buhl Mansion, Tara - A Country Inn, and Donna’s Diner. He proudly serves as a City Councilman for the City of Sharon. Galaska’s first book, Grand Homes of the Gilded Age, which was released in 2022 as the Historical Society’s first coffee-table style book has received much praise. He has also co-authored Built by Steel: Frank and Julia Buhl’s Mansion and Legacy with Laura Ackley. In the spring of 2023, under the guidance of and extensive fundraising campaign of Galaska and treasurer, Wallace Michael Kotyk, the Sharon Historical Society purchased a historic home, set to open this fall as the Wallis Mansion History Center.

Pages: 216

Publisher: Sharon Historical Society, with the Hermitage Historical Society

Imprint: Shenango Heritage Press

Series: Shenango Valley Towns

Publication Date: 30th August 2023

State: Pennsylvania

Trim Size: 6 x 9 in

ISBN: 9798988979401

Format: Paperback

BISACs:
HISTORY / United States / State & Local / Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
HISTORY / United States / 20th Century
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Industries / Manufacturing
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Industries / Natural Resource Extraction