Mount Carmel is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States, located in the Coal Region of the central Susquehanna River Valley. The population was 5,725 at the 2020 census. Situated northwest of Philadelphia and northeast of Harrisburg, the borough is completely encircled by Mount Carmel Township and sits within the Western Middle Anthracite Field. Mount Carmel is known for its role in the anthracite coal industry, for being home to Lieutenant General James M. Gavin of World War II fame, and for being the site of what the Smithsonian Institution identifies as the world's first isolated electrical generating plant, established in 1883.

History

The area that would become Mount Carmel was successively part of Chester, Lancaster, and Berks counties before the formation of Northumberland County in 1772. Europeans first settled the area around 1770, and anthracite coal was discovered nearby in 1790 by Isaac Tomlinson on Broad Mountain. According to local historian Herbert Bell, the borough was named by sawmill operator Albert Bradford, who drew inspiration from the Biblical Mount Carmel in Israel, finding the elevated mountain setting comparable to the holy site.

Mining did not begin in earnest until the 1830s, but the arrival of the railroad dramatically accelerated development. During the latter part of 1854, the Philadelphia and Sunbury Railroad was completed from Shamokin to Mount Carmel, opening the region to large-scale coal extraction. That same year, the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company commenced major improvements to their coal lands near the borough, constructing breakers for the Coal Ridge and Locust Mountain collieries. The borough also supported a wide range of related industries including miners' equipment manufacturing, silk mills, knitting mills, foundries, lumber yards, and a packing plant. Tensions from the industrial boom boiled over in April 1906, when striking miners were shot by troopers of the State Constabulary during a labor dispute; ten men were injured, all of whom survived.

The coal industry's decline after World War I set off a long demographic contraction that continued through the remainder of the century, with the borough's population falling from its 1930 peak of 17,967 to under 6,000 by the year 2000.

Notable events

On June 17, 1948, United Airlines Flight 624 crashed near Midvalley Colliery No. 2 just outside the borough, killing all 43 people on board.

Timeline

  • 1681, March 4 – Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn, creating the Province of Pennsylvania.
  • 1682, August 24 – Penn divides the Province into three counties: Philadelphia, Bucks, and Chester; the site of Mount Carmel falls within Chester County's claimed territory.
  • 1772, March 21 – Northumberland County formed; the area that would become Mount Carmel is located in Augusta Township.
  • 1931 – Mount Carmel High School football stadium (the "Silver Bowl") opened, one of the first high school stadiums with lighting for night games.
  • 1948, June 17 – United Airlines Flight 624 crashes near Midvalley Colliery No. 2, killing all 43 on board.
  • 2003 – Original viaduct removed and a reconstructed version built by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Geography

thumb|left|Buildings in Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel is located at in the ridge-and-valley zone of the central Appalachian Mountains. The borough is situated in a valley between Big Mountain to the south and Locust Mountain to the north, part of the Ridge-and-Valley physiographic province characteristic of the anthracite region's rugged topography. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land.

Politics

thumb|Mt. Carmel Borough Hall

Federal

United States Congress

  • Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district

State

Pennsylvania General Assembly

  • Pennsylvania Senate, District 27
  • Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 107

Education

The Mount Carmel Area School District operates three schools serving the borough and surrounding township:

  • Mount Carmel Area Elementary School (pre-K–6)
  • Mount Carmel Area Junior High School (7–8)
  • Mount Carmel Area High School (9–12)

Transportation

Highways

  • Pennsylvania Route 61, designated from 1963 to the present, previously known as the Centre Turnpike (1808–1911), Pennsylvania State Highway No. 161 (1911–1926), U.S. Route 120 (1926–1935), and U.S. Route 122 (1935–1963).
  • Pennsylvania Route 54
  • Pennsylvania Route 901

Railroads

thumb|upright=1.3|Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Station in Mount Carmel, c. 1917

Several railroads served Mount Carmel during the height of the coal era, including the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (later the Reading Company), the Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Northern Central Railway, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Shamokin-Mount Carmel Electric Railway trolley line, which connected the borough to Shamokin beginning in November 1894.

Notable people

  • Ellen Dow — actress
  • Lieutenant General James M. Gavin (1907–1990) — commanding general of the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II, known as "The Jumping General"
  • Henry Hynoski Sr. — NFL running back for the Cleveland Browns (1975) and father of Henry Hynoski
  • Edward Pinkowski — journalist and historian of Polish Americans
  • Marie Powers — opera contralto who performed throughout Europe from the 1920s to 1940s before establishing herself on Broadway
  • James M. Quigley — politician and lawyer
  • Brett Veach — General Manager of the Kansas City Chiefs since 2017

See also

  • Anthracite Heritage Museum
  • Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company
  • Kulpmont, Pennsylvania

References

  • Mount Carmel Borough — official municipal website
  • Mount Carmel Visitors Area Information