Editing Shade Township, Pennsylvania (section)

==Towns and Villages==

{{main|Central City, Pennsylvania}}

===Cairnbrook===

In the central part of Shade Township is a mining town laid out in 1912 by the Lolayhanna Coal and Coke Company on the Jacob McGregor Farm. It is located on the west bank of Dark Shade Creek along State Route 160. It is the largest unincorporated town in Shade Township, with a present population of 750. The Cairnbrook post office was established here in 1914. The first postmaster was Charles Severn and the present one is Jennings Reitz (as of 1964). The Shade-Central City Union, Junior-Senior High, and elementary schools are located here. The Graef Lutheran Church and parsonage were erected here in 1917–18 at the corner of McGregor Avenue and Third Street. Dorfman and Hoffman established a clothing factory here in 1955, which employs approximately 185 workers at the present time.

Cairnbrook, although not incorporated, owns and operates its own water company, sewers and disposal plant, and street lighting, under the management of the Cairnbrook Improvement Company, Inc. Each property owner is a stockholder in the company. All streets are hard-surfaced and lighted.

The [[Cairnbrook Historic District]] was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1994.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

===Reitz #2===
Reitz #2, a small mining town east of Cairnbrook, just off Route 160, was laid out on the Thomas Mock Farm in 1916 by the Reitz Coal Company.

===Reitz #3 and #4===

Reitz #3 and #4 are small mining towns southeast of Central City, along Dark Shade Creek. Reitz #3 was laid out by John Lochrie in 1916 on the George Manges Farm. Reitz # 4 was laid out under the management of the Reitz Coal Company in 1918–19 on the Moses Walker Farm. It is the second largest town in Shade Township.

===Wilbur===

Wilbur is a small mining town in the western part of the township, one-half mile off Route 403. The town was founded by the Wilbur Coal Mining Company in 1912 on lands formerly owned by Daniel Peterman and J. E. Johnson. The Otterbein United Methodist Church and cemetery are located here.

===Rockingham===
Rockingham is a small mining village along Dark Shade Creek on State Route 160. The village is located on the site of the old Rockingham Iron Furnace, erected in 1841. The village was rebuilt in 1916 by William Gahagen. The Rockingham post office was established in 1922.

===Gahagen===

Gahagen is a small mining village in the southeastern part of the township. It was established by the Gahagen Coal Company in 1919. The post office was established in 1922 and closed in 1956.

===Buckstown===

Buckstown is a small village in the southern part of Shade Township; part of this village is in northern Stonycreek Township. The village is located along the [[Lincoln Highway]] / [[U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania|U.S. Route 30]], formerly known as the Pittsburgh-Philadelphia Turnpike and in colonial times as the Pennsylvania Road or [[Forbes Road]]. Edmunds Swamp, named for Edmund Cartlidge, is about 2.5 miles to the north.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pennsylvania Historical Marker Search |url=http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/apps/historical-markers.html |publisher=Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission |accessdate=June 10, 2020}}</ref>

===Shade Furnace===

Shade Furnace was the first furnace built in Somerset County. George Lambert from 1805 to 1808 held a warrant for a tract land called "furnace seat". Thomas Vikroy was owner from 1808 to 1819. Construction was started in 1808 and first blast in 1809 (bf). Per s&t Gerehart and Reynolds were the builders in 1807 or 1808 (s&t). It was then operated by various owners; Mark Richards and Benjamin Jones 1819 to 1846, forge constructed, Henry Little for 6 months in 1846, John and William Shyrock 1846–47, Robert Bingham, William Shyrock and Andrew Royer 1847 to 1850, Daniel Weyand 1850 to 1880. The furnace and forge were abandoned about 1858. The heirs of Daniel Weyland estate owned the property from 1880 to 1975, when the furnace property and 350 acres surrounding it were obtained by the Historical and Genealogical Society of Somerset County, who are attempting preservation and minor archaeological work in the area.

The [[Shade Furnace Archaeological District]] was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.<ref name="nris"/>