Editing Pottsville, Pennsylvania (section)

===19th century===
{{Further|Pennsylvania in the American Civil War}}
[[File:View of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.jpg|thumb|An illustration of Pottsville in 1854]]
[[File:View of Pottsville Taken from Sharp Mountain & respectfully dedicated to the enterprising citizens of the Coal Region by J.R. Smith - - J.R. Smith, junr. del. ; J.R. Smith, senr. sculpt. LCCN98519836.jpg|thumb|An 1833 portrait of Pottsville by [[John Rowson Smith]]]]
In 1806, John Pott, the founder of Pottsville, purchased the forge. By an act of Assembly of the Commonwealth approved March 1, 1811, the [[Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania|County of Schuylkill]] was erected out of portions of [[Berks County, Pennsylvania|Berks]] and [[Northampton, Pennsylvania|Northampton]]; this placed the site of Pottsville in Schuylkill County. The town was formally laid out in 1816 by a local surveyor, Henry Donnell. Pottsville was established as a village in Norwegian Township in 1819 and incorporated as a borough on February 19, 1828.

In 1829, [[Yuengling|D.G. Yuengling & Son]] established what is now the oldest brewery in the United States. In 1851, Pottsville became the county seat of [[Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania|Schuylkill County]], replacing the original county seat of [[Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania|Orwigsburg]].<ref>DC Henning, Esq., ''Early Annals of Pottsville'', September 28, 1906.</ref>

The [[Reading Anthracite Company|Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company]], which has its roots in the [[Reading Company|Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company]], the remnants of which were acquired in the late 20th century by the [[Reading Anthracite Company]], acquired extensive coal lands and would become one of the most notable of the coal companies operating in Pennsylvania until the demise of the anthracite industry after [[World War II]].

Because of its location along the [[Schuylkill River]], Pottsville developed a small textile industry. Out of this industry grew the [[Phillips Van Heusen]] company which was founded in 1881. Moses Phillips and his wife Endel began sewing shirts by hand and selling them from pushcarts to the local [[coal miners]]. Van Heusen and other textile companies left the region starting in the late 1970s, mainly as a result of foreign competition. Another element of the textile industry was the Tilt Silk Mill on Twelfth Street, which produced silk from silk worms imported from China which fed on mulberry trees in the building's solarium. The silk business eventually was eclipsed by the development of nylon stockings. The building still stands and is presently the headquarters of a storage and vehicle rental business.