St. Clair, PA (Borough)

St. Clair is a Schuylkill County borough in the southern Coal Region, just north of Pottsville, where the old mines left behind a surprisingly specific manufacturing story. Coal mining began here in 1824, and the town's factories later made squibs, fuses, and caps used in mining. Hayessquib and Daddow & Beadles supplied miners, while Daddow also made the wooden and paper boxes that carried the goods. The Quirin machine shop lasted into the mid-2010s, another reminder that the industrial story did not end with the mines. Present-day events include summer car shows, food fairs, parades, and town walks. It is a coal town whose industrial past still shapes the names people remember.