Spangler, Pennsylvania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Spangler, Pennsylvania was a former borough located in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, USA, and named for a Colonel Spangler. The area was first settled by Europeans in the early to middle 1800s. The presence of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River allowed loggers to move their harvest down stream. Small farms developed, but the town came into existence in 1893 when bituminous coal mining of extensive coal fields in the area became the dominant industry. The mining companies required skilled workers and many came from Great Britain and Eastern Europe. Railroads were built to transport the coal out and the town flourished with the influx of money.

A mining disaster occurred on Nov. 6, 1922 at Reilly No. 1 Mine. 79 miners were killed when an explosion occurred at 7:20 a.m. as 112 men had began work. The explosion blew out some stoppings and overcasts and also the side and end walls of the fan housing. Help was called from other mines and from the Bureau of Mines at Pittsburgh. The fan housing was patched and the fan started, making the concrete-lined, 112 foot shaft an intake. Recovery workers without apparatus encountered a live man making his way out to fresh air and brought him and four others out. All were badly affected by mine gases, as were 18 of the rescuers. Apparatus crews were then admitted, and 22 other survivors were rescued. Five other men made their way out unassisted. Seventy-six bodies were found, and 3 of the rescued men died. The reasons for the explosion were explained. The mine had been rated gaseous in 1918, but at the insistence of the new operators it was rated as non-gaseous although a fireboss was employed and men burned by gas on at least 4 occasions. The low-volatile dust of this coal helped to spread the explosion. Gas that had accumulated in one or more rooms through open doors and deficient ventilation was ignited by the miners' open lights. Fireboss examinations were neglected and incomplete. A monument constructed to the memory of those lost in this disaster stands in a park near the center of the town.

Because the town of Spangler was laid out with only one main street close to the Susquehanna river bed and only one to three parallel streets the town adopted the motto: "The Longest Little Town in the World". Spangler existed from 1893 to January 1, 2000 when it merged with the adjacent borough of Barnesboro to create the Borough of Northern Cambria.The local public school district is the Northern Cambria School District, whose athletic teams play under the nickname "Colts" and wear Black and Gold as the school colors. The current zip code of Northern Cambria is 15714.

Spangler is located at 40°39'21" North, 78°46'46" West (40.655813, -78.779472)^[1].