Editing Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania (section)

===18th century===
{{Further|Pennsylvania in the American Revolution}}
The lands that constitute present-day Schuylkill County were acquired by [[William Penn]]'s proprietors in a treaty executed August 22, 1749, with representatives of the [[Iroquois|Six Nations]] and the [[Delaware Tribe of Indians|Delaware]], [[Shamokin (village)|Shamokin]], and [[Shawnee]] tribes, who received 500 pounds in "lawful money of Pennsylvania". The acquired territory described included all of Schuylkill County except the northern part of [[Union Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania|Union Township]], which was included in the purchase of 1768.<ref>DAVIES, JOSEPH H. (CHAIRMAN), ENGLE CHARLES H., YOUNG, ELWOOD M., Area History: A Centennial History - Mahanoy City, (1963), p.9</ref>

In 1744, an early [[Mill (grinding)|mill]] was built in the county by John Finscher, but it later burned down.

In 1754, present-day Schuylkill, [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks]], [[Dauphin County, Pennsylvania|Dauphin]], [[Lebanon County, Pennsylvania|Lebanon]], and [[Lehigh County, Pennsylvania|Lehigh]] counties were settled by [[Germans|German]] immigrants. The earliest settlers in southeastern Schuylkill County, which was then part of [[Northampton County, Pennsylvania|Northampton County]], were primarily [[Moravian Church|Moravian]] [[Palatines]] from the [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]] region of [[Germany]]. 

In 1755, the first [[Trunk (botany)|log]] [[church (building)|church]] was built in the county. [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] massacres were commonplace in Schuylkill County between 1755 and 1765. Warrant for tracts of land in the vicinity of [[McKeansburg, Pennsylvania|McKeansburg]] were established as early as 1750.<ref name = "tales">[https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJDHdBOfHCQC&q=schuylkill&pg=PA181 Old Schuylkill Tales: A History of Interesting Events, Traditions and Ella Zerbey Elliott - Google Books]. Books.google.com. Retrieved on August 15, 2013.</ref> 

In 1790, [[anthracite]], a highly efficient form of [[coal]] then known as stone coal, was discovered near present-day [[Pottsville, Pennsylvania|Pottsville]] by Necho Allen.{{efn|In the 1760s, surveyors discovered anthracite coal in the vicinity of Pottsville and Minersville. The survey team was plotting the course of the King's Highway from Reading to Sunbury. http://portcarbonborough.org/history}} 

In 1795, a blacksmith based in Schuylkill County known as Whetstone resolved the question of how to use anthracite successfully for [[blacksmithing]] purposes. In 1806, additional sources of coal were found as the [[Tailrace fishing|tailrace]] was cut on the [[Schuylkill River]]. Daniel Berlin, another blacksmith, used it successfully, and blacksmiths in the county and surrounding [[Coal Region]] ultimately adopted its use, which represented a core industry, fuel source, and employment sector in the county throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.<ref>Day, Sherman, ''History of Schuylkill County'' (1843)</ref>