"In 1842 no house stood within the present limits of the borough of Coalmont. A camp-meeting ground at that time occupied a portion of the borough. The land was owned by John Berkstresser and David E. Brode. The house was built in the summer of 1843 by Mr. Brode. It was a log house, and it now constitutes a part of the residence of Andrew H. Hickes, near Shoup's Run. No other house was built till 1854, when another log dwelling was erected by John J. Hamilton, and two frame houses by John and Thomas White. Work on the Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad, which was then commenced, brought thither many workman and settlers, who came to labor on the railroad and in the mines which then were opened. Between 1854 and 1858 most of the houses in the village were erected. The time of greatest prosperity here was from 1862-1865. At that time a New York company was constructing a branch railroad and opening new mines here, and these operations made business very brisk. The village then had three hotels and three mercantile establishments, all of which did a thriving business. The hotels were built and kept, one by Ezekial White, one by Thomas Fagan, and one, the largest of the three, was built by William P. Schell, and first kept by Frank Reamer. The stores were first kept by Evans Brothers & Co., Ezekial White, and Berkstresser and Moore. Samuel G. Miller was the first blacksmith who carried on a shop here, and Ezekial White was the pioneer shoemaker. A saw-mill was erected in 1856 by John Hamilton. The machinery for this mill was a few years later removed to a locality in Fulton County. The people who came here were miners or those engaged in business that was subservient to the mining interest, and the borough was prosperous in proportion to the activity and extent of mining operations here. From 1864 to 1874 the place maintained its status without much change. The population during that period was about four hundred. The financial crash that followed was disastrous in its effects on this borough, and in 1876-1877 nearly one-half of the houses were without in habitants. Although the borough has to some extent recovered from this depression, it has not reached its former prosperous condition. No hotel is now kept here, and only one store and a grocery. The population in 1880 was one hundred and seventy-one."1
1History of Huntingdon and Blair Counties, Pennsylvania by J. Simpson Africa Philadelphia, PA: Louis H. Everts, 1883, pp. 228-237.
 1873 atlas depiction of Coalmont. |