It is the location of Pioneer Tunnel, a tourist attraction featuring a tour of a coal mine on mine cars and a separate 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge steam train ride.[4][5]
History
For a long time after southern Pennsylvania was settled, the area that is now Ashland was mostly wilderness except for a hotel in the area in 1820. A prominent citizen of the county, Burd S. Patterson, however, predicted that the area would eventually become a prominent mining town. In 1845, John P. Brock and James Hart joined Patterson in buying 800 acres (320 ha) of land in the Ashland area. In 1846, a group of miners led by Patrick Devine developed coal seams in veins in the area. However, the town progressed little over the next three years. By 1857, though, the town had 3,500 people, and Ashland became a borough, detaching itself from Butler Township. The first post office was built in 1853, and the first church was built in 1855.[6]
The Mothers' Memorial, also known as the Whistlers Mother Statue, is located at the junction of Pennsylvania Route 54 and Pennsylvania Route 61. The Mothers' Memorial is a bronze reproduction of the famous James Abbott McNeill Whistler artistic painting: "An Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1", commonly known as "Whistler's Mother". The WPA-built "Mothers' Memorial" honors all mothers of the United States and it's the only one of its kind in the world.[7] It was designed by the sculptor Emil Siebern, carried out by Julius C. Loester, commissioned and erected during the misery of the Great Depression in the United States by the Ashland Boys' Association and dedicated on Sunday, September 4, 1938, during Labor Day weekend. President Franklin D. Roosevelt economic recovery plan of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) carried out the stone masonry work.[8] On September 17, 2020, the Mothers' Memorial, Hoffman Memorial, and the Veterans' Memorial, were added by the National Park Service to the National Register of Historic Places as a Historic District.[9]
The Ashland Boys' Association was an inspirational story of former residents of Ashland who had to leave town for work when the anthracite mining failed in the late 1800s. Ashland men returned home every Labor Day weekend for little more than a century to visit the old hometown and march in the grand Ashland Boys' Association Mummers' Parade. This unique show of attachment to family, friends, and comforts of home erected the WPA-built Mothers' Memorial statue that became the Ashland Boys' Association's legacy – an American icon and a symbol of motherhood in the United States. The Ashland Boys' Association was honored with a State Historical Marker (40°47′01″N76°20′14″W / 40.78368°N 76.33721°W / 40.78368; -76.33721) by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission on August 31, 2013.[10] The historical marker was unveiled by Adam J. Bernodin, III and James Klock.[11]
View of Ashland looking toward downtown
Goyne Brothers was a family owned firm that came into existence in 1881. Goyne Brothers which later changed the name in 1903 to Goyne Steam Pump Company were manufacturers of general mining machinery, and in 1883, they determined to make the manufacture of mining pumps as a specialty.[12] The Goyne Steam Pump Company in 1911, became known as one of the most substantial exclusive mine pump manufacturing plants in the United States.[12] The importance of coal mining drainage launched out mine pumpers exclusively and the Goyne Steam Pump Company invented, engineered, manufactured, and sold over 250 different mining pump designs and sizes, ranging from single pump up to the largest compound condensing duplex machines practicable for mining purposes throughout the anthracite and bituminous coal regions of Pennsylvania, and the United States.[13][14] The Goyne Steam Pump Company changed the name to Goyne Pump Company in 1955, and the company was purchased in 1979 by Goulds Pumps
Points of interest
Mothers’ Memorial (Whistler's Mother Statue)
Ashland Boys’ Association Pennsylvania Historical Marker
Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and Steam Train
Ashland Area Historic Preservation Society Museum
Station House
Dr. J. L. Hoffman Memorial
The Museum of Anthracite Mining
Military Veterans Monument
World War I Field Piece
Washington Fire Company Historic Bell Tower/Fog Horn
Ashland Town Clock
Geography
The former First Presbyterian Church, now known as the Methodist Presbyterian Church
Ashland is located along the northern boundary of Schuylkill County at 40°46′54″N76°20′40″W / 40.78167°N 76.34444°W / 40.78167; -76.34444 (40.781587, -76.344426).[15] A small portion of the borough, comprising less than 1% of its area, extends north into Columbia County. Butler Township of Schuylkill County borders Ashland to the east, south, and west, while Conyngham Township of Columbia County borders the borough to the north. According to the United States Census Bureau, Ashland has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.3 km2), all land.[3]
Ashland is served by Pennsylvania Route 54 and Pennsylvania Route 61. PA 54 leads east-northeast 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to Girardville and 9 miles (14 km) to Shenandoah, and northwest 16 miles (26 km) to Elysburg. PA 61 leads north 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to Centralia and then west 4 miles (6 km) farther to Mount Carmel, and east 7 miles (11 km) to Frackville. The two highways share Centre Street, the main street through Ashland.
The majority of Ashland is forest, with an urban area in the center. Most of the borough's terrain is steep hills, but the hills are gentler near the center. The southern border of the borough follows the top of Ashland Mountain, which rises 400 to 600 feet (120 to 180 m) above the center of town, except where Mahanoy Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River, passes through a water gap in the mountain in the southeast part of the borough.[16]
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,817 people, 1,301 households, and 776 families living in the borough. There were 1,677 housing units with a vacancy rate of 22.4%. The racial makeup of the borough was 98.2% White, 0.2% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% Asian, and 0.2% other. 1.0% were from two or more races, and Hispanic or Latino were 1.0% of any race.
As of the census of 2000,[20] there were 3,283 people, 1,437 households, and 863 families living in the borough. The population density was 1,886 inhabitants per square mile (728/km2). There were 1,724 housing units at an average density of 990.4 per square mile (382.4/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.39% White, 0.21% African American, 0.09% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.09% of the population.
Of the 1,437 households 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.00.
21.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.1% from age 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $27,234, and the median income for a family was $34,688. Males had a median income of $30,500 versus $20,920 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $15,036. About 11.1% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.
Education
All school-age residents of Ashland attend North Schuylkill School, along Pennsylvania Route 61 located at 15 Academy Lane Ashland (physical address) in nearby Butler Township. The school comprises one elementary school building (K-6) and one upper campus high school (7-12).
[21]
Notable people
Janet Asimov, American science fiction writer, psychiatrist, and psychoanalyst
Bill Dando, professional football coach and player
Mickey Doolan, professional baseball player and coach
Charles W. Staudenmeier, Republican member of the PA House of Representatives and State Senate, Schuykill County Court Judge of Common Pleas (1947-1967)
