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k You and we look forward to working with everyone in Shamokin and Coal Township. Shamokin stands on tracts of land originally known as the Samuel Clark and the Samuel Wetherill survey. These patents were issued on April 11, 1776 by John Penn and John Penn Jr., successors of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania. The name SHAMOKIN is a word in the language of the Delaware Indians which signifies “Eel Creek”. Five nations of Indians occupied the Shamokin Indian Village at the confluence of the two branches of the Susquehanna River in what would later become Sunbury. The town of Shamokin was laid out on March 1, 1835. Later, the tract of land known as Groveville just to the west of the town was added. The town was formed in the true tradition of a Melting Pot. Immigrants who were English, Welsh, Irish, Italian, Polish, Lithuanian, and German came there. Places of worship sprouted to serve the masses: Roman Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Lutheran, and Jewish. The city grew beyond mining to include bakeries, ice cream and dairy factories, F&S Brewery, Eagle Silk Mill, dress and hosiery factories, as well was three movie theaters. The Borough of Shamokin was incorporated in 1864. Several other names were suggested for the name of the borough – Boyd’s Quarry, Boydtown, Newtown, and Marion. John Boyd named the borough “Shamokin”. At its peak in the 1920’s, the combined population of Shamokin and Coal Township was 50,000 with the main industries being Coal Mining and silk from the J.H. & C.K. Eagle Silk Mills. The first "Chief of Burgess" was Richard B. Douty. In January 1950, the Borough became a Third Class City. In 1837, Coal Township was established from the original Township of Coal which included all coal lands in Northumberland County. There were only 17 voters in Coal Township when it was formed. Shamokin was once the most populous area and the largest trading center within a 60-mile radius. The Shamokin area is served by a downtown business area of 35 blocks. Coal, or “Black Diamonds”, was first discovered in what would later become Kulpmont around 1790 when Isaac Tomlinson picked some pieces out of Quaker Run and took them into Berks County for a Blacksmith to try. Around 1875, Mr. Tomlinson erected a blacksmith shop and used Shamokin Stone Coal. From this small beginning emerged an industrial giant, "coal", which was to play a big part of the Industrial Revolution, and played an even more revolutionary role in the development of the city. The most famous name associated with Shamokin is Thomas Alva Edison. Shamokin capitalists were among the first to recognize the significance of Edison's carbon filament lamp. They supplied all the money necessary to erect a power station in Shamokin and placed it under Edison's immediate supervision. Edison was only 35 years old when he arrived in Shamokin in the early fall of 1882. In November of that year, the Edison Electrical Illuminating Company of Shamokin was incorporated. Shamokin was the site of the second three-wire electric light station in the world in 1883 (Sunbury, Pennsylvania, was the first). Edison's plant, for those of you visiting Shamokin, is now the site of Jones Hardware on Independence Street. St. Edward's Church (built in 1873) became the first church in the America to be lit by electricity. The loss of much of the coal industry as the nation turned oil as its primary source of energy, loss of the silk industry in favor of synthetic textiles that could be manufactured cheaper overseas, the great depression which began in 1929 and the loss of Shamokin’s two railroads has resulted in a decrease in the current total population of Shamokin and Coal Township to a little over 18,000. Still, after an 80 year period of decline, the community seeks to find a turning a corner to recovery. Many people spent their lives in the community while traveling great distances to maintain personal employments to support their families. The community continues to be one that can be proud of its friendly citizens and willingness for neighbors to help each other through difficult times.
