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1969 Map of Tower City

Name: 1969 Topographic Map of Tower City
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1972
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1972

About this map

Tower City and Williamstown anchor a corridor of industrial and residential growth along the Reading railroad line, set against the massive parallel ridges of the Pennsylvania coal region. The landscape is defined by its extraction history, evidenced by strip mines, Tailings Ponds, and a series of gravel pits that cut into the slopes of Bear Mountain and Big Lick Mountain. Between these industrial footprints, civic life is documented through the Williams Valley High Sch, Sacred Heart Cem, and the Drive-in Theater near Sheridan.

To the south, the terrain shifts abruptly from mining towns to the dense woods of State Forest and multiple game lands. This area preserves a primitive transportation network where the Appalachian Trail and Horse Shoe Trail traverse the ridges of Stony Mountain and Sharp Mountain. Down in the valley at the foot of Second Mountain, Twin Grove Park stands as a local recreational landmark near the banks of Swatara Creek.