Northern Cambria is not only the upper region of

Cambria County, it is also the new name of two

century-old villages, Barnesboro and Spangler, that have

merged to become a millennium entity.

Located high in the Allegheny Mountains of western

Pennsylvania, the region was once covered by virgin

forests. In time, the dense acreage led to the development

of numerous sawmills, from which logs were floated all the

way downriver to what was then the lumbering capital of

the world, Williamsport. Miles of scenic farmland were

cleared and cultivated.

Then, in the mid-1800s, rich coal veins were found

beneath the Cambrian hills. As word of this discovery

spread, mines opened throughout the region. Within a

short time, immigrants from far and near streamed into

the region to work in the mines. Soon, rail lines were

constructed to serve the coal fields. High school graduates

became miners and dubbed the mines Dust College.

Coal had become king.