The Coalport Area Coal Museum is housed in the large hallway of the Coalport Community Building on Forest Street in Coalport, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania.
Founded in 1991 through the efforts of the Coalport Area Museum Commission, and Glendale Industrial Development Association, the Museum was funded initially by contributions from the community, donations from businesses, and small grants. Through the courtesy of the Coalport borough council, the Museum has been at the Coalport Community Building since the closure of the Coalport Grade School in 1937.
All of the artifacts in the Museum were donated by families of minors who wished to have their memories preserved: To enrich our Future by preserving our Past. Most of the items on display are from the hand-loading days of mining coal, for which our Glendale Valley region was primarily known. Recently, we have added significantly to our coal mining-related texts in our well-stocked reference room.
The town's name of "Coalport" derived actually from a lumbering raft used to move coal down Clearfield Creek which passes through the center of town to Clearfield and eventually on to Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Our records show were over 400 bituminous mines in our Glendale Valley region-known for their heyday to have a deep mine entrance literally two blocks from the town center, but there are only a few surface/strip mines still operating near the borough. Spoil piles of local mines still dot the area, as one exists behind the museum building.
The town of Coalport is part of the "Glendale Valley" region and is located three miles from Prince Gallitzin State Park and Glendale Lake. In April 2000, Coalport's downtown area had the distinction of being named to the National Register of Historic Places. Visitors will enjoy our attractive Streetscape project.