Editing Pottsville, Pennsylvania (section)

===18th century===
{{Further|Pennsylvania in the American Revolution}}
[[Charles II of England|King Charles II]] granted the land that would eventually become Pottsville to [[William Penn]]. This grant comprised all lands west and south of the [[Delaware River|Delaware]] and [[Schuylkill River|Schuylkill]] Rivers; present-day Pottsville was originally in [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester County]]. When the legislative Council, on May 10, 1729, enacted the law erecting [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster County]], which included all the lands of the Province lying westward of a straight line drawn northeasterly from the headwaters of Octoraro Creek (near the southern borders) marked with blazed trees, to the [[Schuylkill River]], then this placed Pottsville in Lancaster County. By enactment of the same Council, approved on March 11, 1752, [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks County]] was erected; this placed Pottsville within the limits of that county.

Pottsville's [[anthracite|anthracite coal]] history began in 1790 when a coal seam was discovered by hunter Necho Allen. Legend has it that Allen fell asleep at the base of the Broad Mountain and woke to the sight of a large fire; his campfire had ignited an outcropping of coal. By 1795 an anthracite-fired [[finery forge]] was established on the [[Schuylkill River]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2012}}