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Summit Hill
Author(s): Lee Mantz
ISBN: 9780738565002
# of Pages: 128
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
On Sale Date: 10/26/2009
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Book Description:
While walking along the top of Sharp Mountain in 1791, Philip Ginder kicked up a piece of black stone that turned out to be anthracite coal. This discovery paved the way for a million-dollar coal industry that thrived for more than a century and spawned the birth of Summit Hill. In early 1827, a nine-mile stretch of the Switchback Gravity Railroad was built for the purpose of hauling coal from Summit Hill to the Lehigh River in Mauch Chunk. By the end of the century, the Switchback was the number two tourist attraction in America, second only to Niagara Falls. Many of the early buildings are no longer standing, but thanks to postcards and photographers of the time, many images of Summit Hill's lost places have been preserved.
Author Bio: Lee Mantz began collecting postcards and stereo views of Summit Hill and the Switchback Gravity Railroad more than a decade ago. The images in Summit Hill are drawn from his personal collection, along with the Summit Hill Historical Society's collection, and represent the town as it was in the height of the coal-mining industry and the tourist influx caused by the Switchback Gravity Railroad.
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