Sawmill operator, Albert Bradford, gave Mount Carmel its name because of its elevation and beautiful setting in the mountains. He decided that it deserved a special name and named it after the holy mountain in Israel. Mount Carmel began as a logging town. Coal was only discovered in 1790 by Isaac Tomlinson. It took twenty-four years until the first shipment of anthracite was shipped from the borough. Mount Carmel Inn was opened in 1812 by Richard Yarnall and was strategically located on the Centre Turnpike (also known as the Reading-Sunbury Road or Old Reading Road) halfway between Pottsville and Danville. During the latter part of 1854, the Philadelphia and Sunbury Railroad was completed from Shamokin to Mt. Carmel, which led to the opening and development of a number of collieries in the region. During the same year, the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company commenced making extensive openings and improvements upon their valuable coal lands in the vicinity of Mt. Carmel, building coal breakers for two collieries – the Coal Ridge and Locust Mountain collieries.[4] The township was erected in 1854, formed from part of Coal Township; by 1862 the borough was incorporated within the township.
Mount Carmel was among the first towns in the country to have its streets lit by electricity. Thomas Edison placed one of his first generators plants here in 1883. The Edison Plant in Mount Carmel was the seventh such in the world.
In the past, there were extensive anthracite mining interests here and in the vicinity. In earlier years, the borough had manufactories of miners' caps, cement blocks, cigars, shirts, stockings, etc., and large silk and planing mills, foundry and machine shops, a knitting mill, lumber yards, a packing plant, and wagon works. Currently that area supports light manufacturing in paper and plastics.
1682 August 24 – Penn divided the Province into three counties, Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester; The last comprised all lands west and south of the Delaware and the Schuylkill; therefore the site of Mount Carmel was originally in an area claimed by Chester County
1729 May 10 – Lancaster County created out of part of Chester County
1894 November – Shamokin-Mount Carmel Electric Railway (trolley line) connecting Shamokin with Mount Carmel completed
1896 – Reliance Colliery is started by Thomas Baumgardner
1897 – Anthracite Brewing Company, later Mt. Carmel Brewery, founded
1900 – Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church is Built
1906 – Divine Redeemer Church is built
1906 April – 'Miners Dispute' striking miners are shot by 21 troopers of the State Constabulary – ten men were injured, but all survived
1908 – Construction of St. Michael Orthodox Church on North Willow St.
1914 – Sts. Peter and Paul Byzantine-Ukrainian Catholic Church is built (it later burned in a fire and was rededicated in 1994)
1930 – The first viaduct was constructed to eliminate crossing two railroad tracks to enter town
1931 – Mount Carmel High School football stadium or "Silver Bowl" is opened being one of the first high school stadiums to have lighting for night games
1934 – Mattucci's Willow Cafe' opens
1948 June 17 – United Airlines Flight 624 crashes near Midvalley Colliery No. 2; killing all 4 crew members and 39 passengers on board
1950 – the coal mining 'boom' begins its decline
1951 – Mt. Carmel Brewery closes
1969 - WMIM Radio- AM 1590 signs-on. Signed-off 1999.
2003 – Original viaduct is removed and a reconstructed version is built by the Department of Transportation even though the railroads are no longer there
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 6,390 people, 3,035 households, and 1,678 families residing in the borough. The population density was 9,655.6 inhabitants per square mile (3,728.0/km2). There were 3,629 housing units at an average density of 5,483.6 per square mile (2,117.2/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.56% White, 0.06% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of the population.
There were 3,035 households, out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.7% were non-families. 41.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the borough the population was spread out, with 19.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 25.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $22,168, and the median income for a family was $35,217. Males had a median income of $28,168 versus $20,595 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,858. About 14.2% of families and 18.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.1% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.
Shamokin-Mount Carmel Electric Railway (trolley line)
Public transportation
The Lower Anthracite Transportation System offers a two-route transit system weekdays and Saturdays from Mount Carmel with buses meeting in Coal Township to Mount Carmel and surrounding communities. A third route, operated seasonally, operates to Knoebels Amusement Resort.
Marie Powers – opera contralto singer who performed throughout Europe from the 1920s to the 1940s and then established herself on Broadway through the 1960s.
