Schuylkill County Town Struggles to Conquer Curse of Coal as It Literally Crumbles Away

Schuylkill County town struggles to conquer curse of coal as it literally crumbles away

By John Luciew, pennlive.com (TNS) First of two parts Girardville, a tiny, past-its-prime coal borough hidden in the Schuylkill County mountains, could be worth more dead than alive. Locals say a thick stretch of the Mammoth coal vein that minted the town’s anthracite heyday runs right under Main Street. To get to it and strip mine the tons of shiny, hard coal buried there, the town would have to be razed. Some speculate that if the money’s ever…

Dying Pa. coal town a ‘blank slate’ for minority newcomers. Can they spur a rebirth?

With Girardville’s ‘King Coal’ glory days gone, leaders embrace minority newcomers as the last hope for revival.