Anthracite iron Company and its first furnace at Catasauqua, which went into blast in 1840, along with five other anthracite furnaces. This marked the commercial establishment of anthracite iron production in the United States. The opening of bituminous coal deposits suitable for coking in the western part of the Allegheny Plateau resulted in the gradual displacement of anthracite as a fuel. The production of coke-fired furnaces overtook that of anthracite-fired furnaces in 1875, and the last anthracite furnaces in the US, the former Lock Ridge Iron Company, converted to coke in 1914. Anthracite iron Anthracite iron or Anthracite 'Pig Iron' is the
Anthracite Bank Building Anthracite Bank Building Anthracite Bank Building, also known as The Beard Building, is a historic former bank building located at Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1850, and is a three-story, three bay wide, brick building in the Italianate style. The first floor exterior is white marble. It housed Tamaqua's first financial institution until 1865. It later served as home of Civil War hero Col. Henry L. Cake and wife Eliza. Cake commanded the 96th PA Volunteer Infantry, rose to the rank of brigadier general, and later served as a member of the fortieth and forty-first U.S. Congress.