Lawrence, PA

Lawrence grew as a miner’s village around Montour No. 4, one of the coal mines opened in Cecil Township in 1914. The older name, Hills Station, still shows up in the history of the place, and the mine’s Hills Portal sat below the village. The Montour Railroad carried coal out while the mine’s portals, tipple, and support buildings shaped the settlement around it. Montour No. 4 closed in 1980 after flooding, leaving Lawrence with the outline of a former mining village and a strong connection to the broader Montour rail story. Today it is a small Washington County community near the Allegheny County line, in the Canon-McMillan school district.