Russellton, PA

At the 2020 census, Russellton was an Allegheny County census-designated place of 1,330 people in West Deer Township. It was once described as two towns, Russellton No. 1 and Russellton No. 2, named for the mines that shaped each settlement. No. 1 began as Gray's Mill, where a mill and blacksmith shop preceded the mine. Bessemer Coal and Coke Company began work on the new mine in 1903, built the first row of company houses in 1904, and opened a company store around 1905. The blue-painted double houses became "Blue Row," a small surviving phrase from the company-town era.

The name Russellton arrived in 1907, honoring Russell Love, just as the railroad and coal operation were turning the valley into West Deer's industrial center. The post office moved into the company-store building, and the old village became the setting for labor battles tied to the 1927 coal strike. Today the mine-town layout is part of a suburban township landscape, but Russellton still carries its two-part history in its name. It is a place where Gray's Mill, a row of blue houses, a company store, and two mine numbers all point to the same valley before the coal era receded.