The town of Coalport was occupied sometime around 1876 when buildings were constructed around an old sawmill built by John Gee–on land bordering Clearfield Creek and the land on the nearby hillside was purchased by William Mays. This farmland continued to grow with building when soon it was sold to James Haines on October 21, 1876. The town continued to grow at a phenomenal rate, spurred by the growth of lumber mills. Soon a narrow-guage road from Bellwood to Lloydsville was extended to the community. A post office known as ‘Reilly’s’ was opened in 1882, and finally in 1883, Coalport was incorporated as a borough.
Being centrally located between key towns, two railroads were extended into the borough. The community rapidly grew beyond the town limits and formed the villages of Blain City, Rosebud and Lyleville–which officially lie with the borders of Beccaria Township. Borough proper of Coalport at one time had 1500 people while the surrounding area numbered nearly 3000 people. Coalport served as the hub of activity for the area with its lumbering industry and coal mines and many businesses sprung up to form the place for shopping for all nearby communities. With movie theaters, stores, electrical power and water utilities developed first in Coalport, it allowed the town to be the most progressive in Glendale Valley at the time.
Regrettably, after World War II, many coal mines began to close, and by the late 1970’s, final removal of all deep mines ended in the Coalport area–although a few surface mines still surround the town. The 2000 census showed a population of 554 people within Coalport borough. Today Coalport borough still serves as the shopping and banking hub for most of the Glendale area inhabitants.
Glendale Valley 