Simon Cameron was a Pennsylvania political powerhouse, a controversial figure, and a master of using influence for personal gain. He served as Abraham Lincoln’s first Secretary of War, a tenure that ended after a year and with much scandal.

Cameron returned to Pennsylvania in 1862, eager to rebuild his fortunes – and he set his sights on the coal industry of Williams Valley in northern Dauphin County.

In a letter I uncovered while researching my thesis at Hood College back in 2014, written on May 6, 1862 as the Civil War raged, Cameron is revealed to have deep connections to railroad and coal development in Central Pennsylvania.

The letter’s author, Dr. William Schmoele, served as the president of the Summit Branch Railroad Company, a business hoping to expand into the rich anthracite coalfields of northern Dauphin County.

Sent from Philadelphia, Schmoele’s letter hints at Cameron’s potential investment in the railroad project:

Philadelphia, (1612 Walnut St.)
May 6, 1862

Hon. Simon Cameron,
Middletown, PA

Dear Sir:

May I take the liberty of asking the following question, a kind answer to which will very much oblige me, if not incompatible with your convenience and pleasure, viz: Are you or do you intend to become interested in “The Summit Branch Rail Road Company,” and if so, will you grant me the favor of an interview, on that subject, at a place and time you may be pleased to appoint?

With the highest regard,

Your obedient servant,
William Schmoele, M.D.

The Summit Branch Railroad Company aimed to construct a new railroad line from Wiconisco to its coal-rich lands just east of present-day Williamstown. Such a project required major financial backing and political influence – two things Cameron had in abundance.

Records suggest Cameron seized the opportunity. By January 1863, he had joined the board of the railroad company – but his tenure was short-lived. Documents from early 1863 indicate that Cameron resigned his directorship, suggesting he had been brought on solely to broker a sale.

And sell the railroad and mining interests he did.

By June 1863, the Summit Branch Railroad was sold to Josiah Caldwell, a railroad investor from Boston. The sale price remains unknown, but the transaction shifted control of one of Pennsylvania’s most promising coal operations from local businessmen to wealthy New England industrialists.

This marked a turning point for Williams Valley. Under its new ownership, the Summit Branch Railroad expanded rapidly, building the mining town of Williamstown, fueling anthracite production, and transforming the region into one of the state’s leading anthracite producers in the wake of the Civil War.

All this happened amid the backdrop of scandal – while running for the United States Senate in 1862, it became public that Cameron and his backers sought to buy the votes of Democratic state representatives. At the time, votes for the US Senate were not put to the people, but came from the state legislatures.

Among the offers allegedly put forth to entice Democrats from the Coal Region to vote for Cameron, a Republican, were timber and railroad contacts with the Summit Branch Railroad Company in Williams Valley.

The efforts failed and an embarrassing investigation revealed all the efforts to buy votes by Cameron and his supporters. The scandal added to a long list of scandals that had followed Simon Cameron throughout his political career. Despite this, he returned to the United States Senate from Pennsylvania in 1867, a position he held until 1877 when his son, J. Donald Cameron, succeeded him.

Read the full story of scandal and the Lykens Valley coal trade during the Civil War here.

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This story was adapted from an original story published in 2014.