NAMES OF TOWNS

Many Schuylkill County towns bear the names of their founders or family names closely associated with their growth.

The first two county seats draw their names from their founders.

Orwigsburg, original county seat from 1811 to 1851, was laid out and named by Peter Orwig in 1794. And Pottsville was named for John Pott whose grandfather came from Germany to America in 1734 on the same ship which brought over the little colony of the Schwenfelders though he was not a member of the sect.

John Pott's name, it is said, should be correctly pronounced "Putt" so that Pottsville in reality should be Puttsville. He is to be differentiated, too, from the John Potts, an iron master of Quaker descent, who was the founder of the Pottstown and who early owned land on the present site of Pottsville before Pott or "Putt" came here.

Nearby Cressona was founded by and named for John Chapman Cresson, a Philadelphia civil engineer and manager of the Schuylkill Navigation Company, President of the Mine Hill and Schuylkill Haven Railroad and chief engineer of Fairmont Park, Philadelphia.

Another prominent Philadelphian, philanthropic Stephen Girard, merchant and founder of Girard College, once the richest man in the United States, had his named bestowed on Girardville when it was founded in 1832 because he owned large tracts of land in that area.

Several small settlements were consolidated and incorporated as the borough of Gilberton in 1843 and named for John Gilbert, wealthy coal operator.

Lanigan's took the name of James Lanigan, the coal operator: Wadesville, of Captain John Wade, another coal pioneer. Mackeysburg, once called Meckeysburg, was established on land owned by George Meckey.

Klingerstown is named for Alexander Klinger and his four sons who settled in that area in 1780. Judge William L. Helfenstein, of Pottsville, influenced the establishment of a colliery near the town which now bears his name.

The Heckersville Valley was named for August Heckscher, the famed land owner. And Wiggans assertedly took its name from George Wiggans, London born coal operator, who helped found the Miners' Hospital at Ashland.

Although the railroad town of Gordon was built on a tract of land originally owned by David and James McKnight , whose descendants laid it out, it was named for Judge David Gordon, of Reading, to whom was generously donated a building lot.

Tower City was named in 1868 for its founder, Charlemagne Tower, Sr., whose son, Charlemagne, later became United States Ambassador to Germany.

Daniel Frack, Sr., laid out the mountain town of Frackville in 1861 and Maizeville was called after H.L. Maize, of Miller and maize, who opened the Stanton Colliery in 1870. Some early Maizeville wags called the town "Flour Barrel" because one of the buildings used a barrel for a chimney.

One family participated in the naming of two county towns. Nelson Brandon, an agent for the Girard heirs, laid out Brandonville in 1871 and thus it bears his name. Lloyd Brandon, a member of the same family, is said to have called Seltzer City, now Seltzer, after a friend, Charles Seltzer.

The name of J.F. Weishample, an itinerant preacher, was bestowed on the tiny community of Weishample.

Llewellyn was named for David Llewellyn, Welsh pioneer resident who founded it in 1830; Reineerton, for George Reiner, an early settler who founded it in 1869, and Donaldson, for William Donaldson, a coal operator who founded it in 1837.

McAdoo was first known as Sailor's Hill, then Pleasant Hill, and finally embraced the name of William G. McAdoo, second assistant postmaster at the time and later Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson.

Muir was named for James Muir, one-time Pottsvillian and a distributor of explosives. The old Keffer Taver a top Broad Mountain was once a post station and landmark and later became Joliett's Tavern, hence these names. Joseph Keffer was probably its owner.

Beckville apparently took its name from John Beck, one of its first settlers. Its first name may have been Beck's Mill because of the location of a grist mill there.

Barnesville was founded in 1854 and named for the Barnes family of Philadelphia.

The tiny community of McKeansburg in East Brunswick Township where houses were first built in 1813, took its name from Thomas McKean, who held simultaneously the posts of Congressman from New Jersey and Governor of Pennsylvania, refusing to yield either job in true Schuylkill County fashion.

Port Clinton was once a prominent canal town, so it was entirely logical to choose the name of DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York state and promoter of the Erie Canal.

There has been frequent misunderstanding about the origin of the name of St. Clair Borough. The generally accepted version is that took the name of the Christian name of St. Clair Nichols who owned the farm on which the town was built. In 1833, Messrs. Carey, Lee, and Hart bought the Nichols farm, laid out the town and gave it its name.

Erroneous, apparently, is the story that General Arthur St. Clair prominent Pennsylvania officer in the Revolutionary War, bestowed his name on the community.

Kehley Run was named probably for Peter Kehley, who originally owned the site of Shenandoah and built a log house there as early as 1835.

Brockton drew its name from John Brock, a landowner of the area, and Sheppton from a branch of the Shepp family, possibly Daniel Shepp.

Shoentown was named for Phillip Shoen, who bought 40 acres of land and laid out the community.

Let the origin of the name of Mar-Lin be forever at rest. Directly from the Brumm family comes this version: The town was named for Susan Marlin James, daughter of John Marlin and grandmother of the late Congressman G. Frank Brumm. When the US Post Office objected to the name of Marlin because a town of similar name was in Texas a compromise was made to hyphenate the name, thus Mar-Lin.

Geography was a prime consideration in the choice of names of some communities. Pine Grove was named for the pines that stood in the valley on the south side of Mahantongo Mountain, so named by Lewis Evans, surveyor and map maker, who was one of a party of three which in 1743 helped study the physical condition of the land and maintain friendship with the Indian tribes.

Others based on geographical consideration include Tremont, founded in 1816 and named for the French term for three mountains; Branchdale, founded in 1836 and once known as "Muddy Creek," because of a branch of the Schuylkill River; Middleport, because of its location midway between Pottsville and Tamaqua; Valley View, because of its visibility from any point in the valley; Landingville, originally "Orwigsburg Landing," being a point on the canal from which Orwigsburg was the most accessible. Tuscarora, from the Tuscarora Mountains, a name of Indian origin; Summit Station, because it was the summit of the railroad, not the mountain; Good Springs, because "a very good spring is located there," to quote an old inhabitant; Lofty, because it is high on the mountains; Fountain Springs, so named by Nicholas Seitzinger, a pioneer settler, because of a large spring.

Mining and industry contributed to names. Minersville, started in 1830 by Titus Bennett from three or four clusters of frame houses, was named for mining; Schuylkill Haven, because it was at the bend of the Schuylkill Canal and was a haven or point for the shipping of coal; Coaldale, originally New Wales, for coal; Mount Carbon, which means 'mountain of coal;" Newkirk, for coal mines opened in 1852 by Newkirk and Bach; Big Mine Run, original site of the Bast-Taylor Collieries; William Penn for the William Penn Coal Company and not the state founder.

Port Carbon, because of large shipments of coal by water; Suffolk, for Suffolk Colliery, first operated by the Estate of Dundas, Biddle and Company as the Suffolk Coal Company; St. Nicholas, named by H.L. Cake and Guise, who named the colliery thus, legend says, because it first operated on a Christmas Day; Lytle, for Andrew Lytle coal tract which joins the Primrose coal tract (and hence the name Primrose); Black Heath, since its original miners or mine owners came from Black Heath, England; Lorberry and Joliett, because of mines of the same name. The name of the Dundas-Lippincott coal lands was combined to the form Duncott. Valley Furnace was so named because of a furnace established there in 1804 by Rev. F.W. Holmes.

Mary D is named, 'tis said, for the wife of an owner of the property. Mechanicsville is one of nine Pennsylvania towns bearing this name and there is a rash of them across the national map. The one east of Pottsville was so named because the first settlers were reputedly mechanics.

Auburn was named from the Oliver Goldsmith's poem "The deserted village" referring to the village of the plains. It was established as a station near the canal locks by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. Hometown appeared to have been a home of Indians. Deer Lake is so called because once extinct deer made a reappearance there, while Turkey Run was at one time abundant with what else turkeys. Forestville is named for the Forest Improvement Company which opened stores in Cass Township. Zion's Grove is named after Zion's Church. Suedberg, formerly Mifflin, was named for a town in Sweden, according to the historical marker. New Philadelphia is named after what else Philadelphia. Nuremberg is named for the German town of the same name. Zerbe was named after the two Zerbe brothers, Martin and Henry, who erected a 3 story hotel there.

DeTurksville is from DeTurks, a Hugenot name, and was once called Silliman,. Friedensburg may be from the German "Friedenskirch" or "Church of Peace." Morea gets its name from the island of the Pelops of Greek mythology. Cumbola was allegedly named by a woman of foreign extraction, seeking a stray cow, calling out in broken English "Come, Bola." However it is believed that the town is actually of Welsh origin from Cumburla, a county of South Wales.