1893 Map of Hazleton

About this map

Hazleton stands as the industrial hub of this 1889 survey, surrounded by the intense coal-extraction infrastructure of the Panther Creek Valley. The landscape is defined by its ridge-and-valley topography, with the Nesquehoning Mountains and Mauch Chunk Ridge dictating the path of heavy industry. A complex web of rail lines, including the Mahanoy Branch of Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Nesquehoning Br. of Central Railroad of N.J., serves numerous mining settlements. This map reveals a high density of company towns and patches such as Jeddo, Eckley, and Lansford that flourished before the consolidation of the anthracite fields. Unusual details like the Down Track and Up Track near Summit Hill highlight the specialized gravity-based transport systems once common in this part of Pennsylvania. From the banks of the Lehigh River at Glen Onoko to the rail junction at Tamaqua, the map documents a region entirely transformed by the requirements of the coal economy.