by Anne Frances Pulling (Author)
Northern Cambria is not only the upper region of
Cambria County, it is also the new name of two
century-old villages, Barnesboro and Spangler, that have
merged to become a millennium entity.
Located high in the Allegheny Mountains of western
Pennsylvania, the region was once covered by virgin
forests. In time, the dense acreage led to the development
of numerous sawmills, from which logs were floated all the
way downriver to what was then the lumbering capital of
the world, Williamsport. Miles of scenic farmland were
cleared and cultivated.
Then, in the mid-1800s, rich coal veins were found
beneath the Cambrian hills. As word of this discovery
spread, mines opened throughout the region. Within a
short time, immigrants from far and near streamed into
the region to work in the mines. Soon, rail lines were
constructed to serve the coal fields. High school graduates
became miners and dubbed the mines "Dust College."
Coal had become king.