As the population continued to increase, businesses and infrastructure grew around the coal industry. The Rhondda Urban Council chose Porth as one of two sites to build gas works and the area around Porth Square and Hannah Street became the commercial centre of the village. One of the more notable businesses to open in Porth was the Thomas & Evans grocers one of the first of a chain of shops owned by William Thomas and William Evans two entrepreneurs from Pembrokeshire. Evans became an important figure in the growth of Porth, and in the late 1890s he opened a jam factory and the Welsh Hills Mineral Water factory, later to become Corona carbonated drinks which would remain a major manufacturer within the village up until the 1980s.