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| WILLIAMSTOWN. This thriving borough with a population of 2,878, is situated in the
center of the Lykens-Williams Valley anthracite coal fields. The combined valleys, now
called Lykens-Williams Valley, was formerly noted on the early maps simply as the Williams
Valley, although on the Scull map of 1770, the valley is noted as "Liken's
Valley" (Morris map, 1848). The valley and the town took their name from
Daniel Williams, that of one of the earliest settlers in the valley. The town is not far
from the Schuylkill county line, and is at the terminus of the Summit Branch of the
Pennsylvania Railroad. The discovery of anthracite coal in 1825 led to the development of
Williamstown, as it did with the town of
Lykens in the same
valley. The Williamstown Colliery has been one of the largest in the anthracite field. As
early as 1873 it shipped from its mines about 301,296 tons. The town was laid out by the
Coal Company in 1869. The Williamstown Literary Society, composed of about 24 members, was
organized in 1876. The statistics concerning the anthracite industry in Dauphin county are
give in the chapter on "Modern Industries". Williamstown celebrated its
Centennial August 18-21, 1926.
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Dauphin County
Genealogy Resource Center |
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