In December 1873, a 4,000 foot tunnel was completed through Big Lick Mountain in Dauphin County. Williamstown Tunnel opened up Bear Valley for profitable coal mining.
The completion of Williamstown Tunnel – 1873

In December 1873, a 4,000 foot tunnel was completed through Big Lick Mountain in Dauphin County. Williamstown Tunnel opened up Bear Valley for profitable coal mining.
Budd served during the Civil War and later became a prominent citizen in Dauphin County's largest mining community.
In July 1906, engineers from rival coal mines played for bragging rights in northern Dauphin County.
David Watkeys was pulled unconscious from the Williamstown Tunnel on May 25, 1904. He survived to tell his story.
10 miners were killed when toxic gas from a locomotive filled Williamstown Tunnel on May 25, 1904
Our first Facebook Live video gives a short history of Williamstown Tunnel at the southwestern border of the Coal Region
Isaac Kunkel photographed the Williamstown Colliery in 1860s and documented the birth of a new town.
"The excitement is great," reported the Lykens Register in April 1872. Williamstown Colliery had just experienced its deadliest accident to date.
A report from the Summit Branch Railroad Company in 1865 details the growth of a new community at the northern tip of Dauphin County.
In January 1942, workers began dismantling the once thriving Williamstown mining operation.