Williamstown

Williamstown is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is 38 miles (61 km) northeast of Harrisburg. Formerly, anthracite coal mines and hosiery mills were located in the borough. The town takes its name from a Revolutionary War-era traveler who passed through the region and operated a sawmill nearby. Tunneling through Big Lick Mountain at the future colliery site began in 1856–57 under the Summit Branch Railroad Company, and the transportation of anthracite coal from the mine complex began in 1866 — the year the Williamstown Colliery shipped 67,643 tons in its first year of operation. The mine became a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the 1870s and in its earliest years ranked as one of the largest anthracite producers in the world, shipping nearly 300,000 tons in 1869 alone. By the 1920s, coal was being extracted from depths of up to 1,600 feet. The colliery was officially shuttered on January 30, 1942, as falling anthracite prices and the shift from steam to oil power made operations unviable. The closure had a devastating effect on the community, as the great majority of the borough's workforce had been employed at the colliery, with additional employment provided by two hosiery mills. The population was 1,303 at the 2020 census.

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