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History · Coal

Coal’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Coal. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
4recent photos

The story so far

from Wikipedia & the U.S. Census

Coal Township is a township in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population at the 2020 Census was 10,136, which was a decline from the figure of 10,383 tabulated in 2010.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 10,383 to 10,139 (-2%). Half of its homes were built before 1938.

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Coal yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.

Be one of the first

Start Coal’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coal’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people close to Coal

See all 20 →
EDEllen Albertini DowMount Carmel · 4 miJAJanet AsimovAshland · 9 miDennis Joseph DoughertyDennis Joseph DoughertyAshland · 9 miStan CoveleskiStan CoveleskiShamokin · 2 miEmil SeidelEmil SeidelAshland · 9 miWWWilliam J. WaltersheidAshland · 9 mi
By decade

Coal, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today4 photos
Ranshaw, PennsylvaniaCommonsRanshaw, Pennsylvania2015Ridge in Northumberland County, PennsylvaniaCommonsRidge in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania2014Pennsylvania State Route 125CommonsPennsylvania State Route 1252011Abandoned bridge over Shamokin Creek near Shamokin, PACommonsAbandoned bridge over Shamokin Creek near Shamokin, PA2009
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Coal is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Coal has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Richards Covered Bridge in Ralpho, 5.1 miles away.

Coal and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Coal. Tap a dot.
Richards Covered BridgeKreigbaum Covered BridgeKnoebel, Lawrence L., Covered BridgeJohnson Covered Bridge No. 28Rohrbach Covered Bridge No. 24Parr's Mill Covered Bridge No. 10

Closest to Coal

Richards Covered BridgeRalpho · Multiple Kingpost and Queenpost Truss5.1miKreigbaum Covered BridgeRalpho · Queenpost Truss5.1miKnoebel, Lawrence L., Covered BridgeRalpho · Modified Queenpost Truss7.1miJohnson Covered Bridge No. 28Cleveland · Warren Truss7.4miRohrbach Covered Bridge No. 24Franklin · Queen Post Truss8.7mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Richards Covered Bridge’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Coal?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Coal’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 East Cameron📜 Shamokin📜 Kulpmont📜 Marion Heights

From Wikimedia Commons (4). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Where to, neighbor?

You’re in Coal, PANorthumberland CountyView boundary

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/15 · 2025-01-01
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