Welcome to Lansford
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In between the beautiful hills of Carbon County Pennsylvania is the Borough of Lansford. Settled in 1845, the western part of Lansford was previous named the town of Ashton and the eastern part of Lansford was named Storm Hill. A petition by the residents of Ashton was filed on March 19, 1876 in county court to make Ashton a borough. The name "Lansford" was chosen in honor of Asa Lansford Foster. Mr. Foster was a prominent figure in the first half of the 1800's being involved in the mercantile business and coal mining. Mining was the principal industry in the valley for more than a century. In the beginning, shipping the coal was difficult and limited as to the clientele. When they built a tunnel through the Nesquehoning mountain, the industry boomed.
| | The valley attracted all nationalities to come to work. Businesses grew up to offer services to the people making their way to the valley. As time passed, the clothing industry became part of the landscape with numerous “Mom and Pop” companies opening up to hire the women of the valley. Lansford was considered the Jewel of the Valley. Lansford has one claim to fame that eventually affected the whole United States. Robert Tarleton, a Lansford resident, invented a way to carry television signals to multiple locations using cables. The cable industry was born by placing a tower on top of Summit Hill mountain and draping cables down the hill to a transmitting system which allowed television to come into everyone’s home who wanted to receive it. The television industry would be what it is today without this system and a Lansford resident was responsible for it. |
| | Today, Lansford isn’t the Jewel of the Valley that it once was but there are some dedicated people who are trying to bring some of that glory back. Tourism will be the wave of our future. Our past will be our future. |
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