Pottsville is more than the county seat. Its streets tell the story of how anthracite transformed Schuylkill County.

The city grew during the 1800s as coal mining expanded and transportation links connected the region to larger markets.

A downtown shaped by industry

Centre Street and the surrounding downtown developed with banks, hotels, stores, theaters, offices and public buildings that served a booming coal economy.

More than coal

Pottsville also became home to institutions and businesses that gave the city an identity beyond mining, including D.G. Yuengling & Son and the Schuylkill County Courthouse.

Why the old buildings matter

The Pottsville Downtown Historic District preserves evidence of a time when coal money helped build substantial commercial architecture in the middle of the mountains.

Today, those buildings give downtown Pottsville a character that newer communities simply cannot recreate.

Sources: Schuylkill County Historical Society and National Register/Wikimedia documentation of the Pottsville Downtown Historic District.