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Nanty-Glo - BUSINESSES
Nanty-Glo - RESOURCES
Nanty-Glo - CHURCHES
Nanty-Glo - SCHOOLS

Nanty-Glo

The borough of Nanty-Glo began as a little lumber-town called Glenglade, in the early 1890s. The first post office there was established in 1894. By 1896 the town had thirteen houses. That was the year that Dr. James W. Dunwiddie opened the first coal mine at the site, Nanty Glo No. 1. The mine didn't produce a whole lot of coal, since it was difficult to ship, but by 1899 the Pennsylvania Railroad laid track through the town, and coal mining really began in earnest. Additional mines were opened, and the town grew and prospered.

In 1901 the town's name was officially changed to that of its first coal mine, Nanty-Glo, from the Welsh Nant-y-glo meaning valley of coal.

First Coal Mine at Nanty Glo, ca. 1910

Schools, churches, hotels and stores were built to serve the needs of the growing community. In 1908 electricity was made available from a local plant. in 1918 the town was officially incorporated as Nanty Glo Borough, taking part of Blacklick Township from the north side of the Blacklick, and part of Jackson Township from the south side of the Blacklick.

Over the years several manufacturing enterprised opened up, so that coal was not the sole source of employment in the town. There was a chemical works, soda bottling factory, a dress manufacturing firm, and a plastic factory. Nanty-Glo also had its own movie theater and weekly newspaper.

By 1960 Nanty-Glo was Cambria County's largest Borough, with a population over 5,000 persons. By 2000 that had fallen to 3,054. Coal mining changed over those years, with few labor-intensive deep-mines left, today's coal comes primarily from strip mines. Nor is the demand for coal what it once was, since most of the Pennsylvania steel manufacturing firms have closed.

The Great Flood of 1977 that devastated Johnstown also caused extensive damage to Nanty-Glo. Like Johnstown, Nanty-Glo refused to be daunted by the disaster, and soon rebuilt. In 1980 a public library was established. In 1991 Ghost Town Trail was created, making a biking/hiking (and in winter, cross-country skiing) trail along old railroad right-of-way between Nanty-Glo and Dilltown, and from Red Mill to White Mill.

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