June 2025 Program
Hometown History:
When Peach Bottom Welsh quarried slate to make roofs that seem to last forever
by Jamie Noerpel and Jim McClure
Watch the recorded presentation here.
In the 1840s, the Welsh came to the Delta-Peach Bottom area to quarry slate, as they had in Wales for generations. The quarries boomed for 75 years and then declined from the World War I era to World War II, but the Welsh influence remains today. When high school students from Wales visited Delta in 2023, some felt that they were in their native country. Some found their hometowns inscribed on tombstones in Slateville Presbyterian Cemetery. “The Welsh cracked the stone in one direction,” the region’s primary history book states, “and split it in the other to make roofs that seem to last forever."
About the speakers
Jamie Noerpel - After earning a B.A. from York College, Pennsylvania Jamie Noerpel taught high school history for ten years at Milton Hershey School. She now directs the York County Safety Collab, a coalition of law enforcement and the community geared toward youth crime prevention. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in American studies from PSU with a focus on history, environmental studies, and literature as well as a certification in folklore and ethnography. She co-founded a website called Witnessing York, writes a local history blog for YDR called Wandering in York County, operates a local history podcast called Hometown History, and launched Project Penny Heaven - an initiative to install a permanent monument in York’s potter’s field. As a born and raised York Countian and an academically trained historian and folklorist, she's here to speak about Welsh from Peach Bottom.
James McClure is the retired editor of the York Daily Record/York Sunday News, after serving in leadership positions at the news organization for more than 30 years. In that time, he also served as USA Today Network’s state editor for Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, overseeing six daily newsrooms. He previously served as East Region editor for Digital First Media with oversight of 24 daily newsrooms. He is the author or co-author of 10 books on York County history, including “Never to be Forgotten” in 2024, an expanded and updated general history of York County. In 2025, he was inducted into the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Hall of Fame. He is a partner with Jamie Noerpel and Dominish Marie Miller in the streaming/YouTube series “Hometown History.”
Presentation overview by Becky Anstine:
Our last program for the 2024-2025 year was presented by Jim McClure and Jamie Noerpel. Anyone who has visited the Delta area can see that the Welsh influence on the area still exists. From tombstones in the local cemeteries, slate sidewalks, slate roofs, language and religion – the Welsh have left their mark on the area. Between 1845-1860, a small village, known as Coulsontown was built. Cottages were built, identical to those found in North Wales. Several cottages remain, one cottage has been renovated and is open to the public. Others are being renovated as time and money allow. One noticeable difference between the Coulsontown cottages and the North Wales cottages is that the Coulsontown cottages are stand alone rather than connected to each other like in Wales (one theory is that the Welsh realized that in American, they could own their own property).
Slate had been mined since the mid 1700’s. The slate area around Delta is about 12 miles long and ½ mile wide. The first individuals to mine the area were the English and the Scotch-Irish, who settled in the area in the mid 1700’s. Around 1845, Peter Williamson, a former quarry foreman knew that the Welsh were experienced quarrymen. He also knew that the Welsh were eager to immigrate to escape British rule. He recruited Welshmen to come to the area and work the quarries. The Welsh not only brought their quarry experience but their culture, language, work ethic, and belief in education.
Twelve quarries existed in the area and employed between 200-400 individuals. The quarries started as small pits and eventually grew till they were several hundred feet deep. The workday began in the early morning hours and lasted until evening – an eight to twelve hour day. The workers brought a boiled egg, sandwich, fruit and tea for their snacks and lunch breaks. Children as young as ten years old worked in the quarries. They worked as bell ringers or water boys. Slate splitters were the highest paid workers. Accidents were frequent occurrences. The vertical cleavage quarry and the 200 foot depth of the quarry made them dangerous for the quarrymen. Logs were set against the quarry walls to help prevent rock slides. The bell ringers were responsible of guiding the slate blocks from the bottom of the quarry to the top. Another danger was the seepage of water into the quarry.
The Great Depression saw the start of the decline of the slate industry. Some quarries still survived between 1950-1970.
Today there are various ways for individuals to learn and absorb the Welsh culture which is being well preserved in the Delta area. Various activities still take place in Delta and there are a variety of places to visit:
- Visit the Coulsontown Cottages and walk the grounds.
- The Old Line Museum has several exhibits of interest: the Humphrey Pritchard Clock -made entirely of slate, Indian artifacts, etc. https://susquehannariverlands.com/history-culture/heritage-sites-museums/old-line-museum/
- Walk the sidewalks of Delta and visit the Slate Ridge Cemetery to see the slate tombstones
- Visit the Rehoboth Welsh Chapel for a service in Welsh and English or attend the hymn sings held twice a year.
- Stroll through the Delta Cardiff Heritage Festival.
Jamie Noerpel and Dominish Marie Miller have done numerous videos on York County History. The link below takes you to a series that they did on Delta and the slate mines.
https://www.witnessingyork.com/mapping-meaning/delta-its-region-slate-roofs-slate-foundations/