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     Saxton is the largest community in the Broad Top Mountain region of South Central Pennsylvania. A mountainous area, the Broad Top consists of about 100 square miles and is dotted with small communities. The region is underlain with seams of high-grade semi-bituminous coal, and 90% of the land is covered with forests. Coal mining and iron manufacture were the major industries until the 1950s. Today the area relies on tourism, logging and manufacturing.

     Settlers first came to the Broad Top area following the French and Indian War, from eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland. Due to Indian hostilities, a group of pioneers led by Sebastian Shoup erected Shoup's Fort near Saxton. The fort was abandoned during Indian hostilities in July, 1780. At this same time, a band of Bedford County Militia under the command of Capt. William Phillips was formed to protect settlers who were harvesting their grain. On July 16, 1780 ten or twelve of the Rangers were massacred by a band of Seneca Indians led by two British officers. Phillips and his son, Elijah were taken prisoner. Today the site of the massacre is marked by a stone monument in Liberty Twp., near Saxton maintained by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Shoup's Fort is commemorated on a plaque erected at the Saxton Community Library.

     Among the early settlers was Thomas White, a participant in the Boston Tea Party and Revolutionary War soldier who settled on Broad Top Mountain after the war. White, who died in 1820, is buried in the Evans Cemetery, and a monument was erected at his grave site by his descendants. This marker can be reached by turning onto Washington Street from Route 913 in Dudley, and proceeding two miles. Here, the turnoff to the graveyard is marked by a bronze plaque.

     The Broad Top Coal Field was served by two railroads, The Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain Railroad (built 1853-54) on the western side of the mountain, and East Broad Top Railroad (built 1874) on the eastern side. These lines hauled coal, lumber, limestone, iron ore and pig iron to market. Between 1856 and 1956, large coal mines dotted the rugged Broad Top terrain. The last large deep mine closed in 1968. The H&BTM was abandoned in 1954, and the EBT two years later. Today the EBT is a tourist railroad operating along six miles of track at Orbisonia. Despite several attempts to restore the entire 33-mile right-of-way as a major attraction, the complete restoration of the line has remained elusive.

     Large blast furnace operations were located at Saxton, Riddlesburg, Hopewell and Everett. The final iron manufacturing complex, at Riddlesburg, closed in 1943. The historic Riddlesburg coke ovens have been restored and can be seen today. They provided coke to the Colonial Iron Co. operation at Riddlesburg.

     Saxton was the operating heart of the H&BTMRR as the location of the machine shops and repair shops, round-house and yards. Today very little remains of this once-bustling operation. One structure, the old paint shop, houses the Martin General Store along Main Street. The concrete piers of the Stonerstown trestle are also visible. Along Main Street, the Saxton business district features an unusual architectural appearance. Traditionally the retail shops were at ground level (basement) with the upper two floors serving as the residences of business owners and their families. Second-floor porches extend out over the sidewalks, giving Saxton that "Dodge City" look. The Saxton Parkway, complete with benches, brick walkways, flower gardens, shade trees, and large veterans' memorial, extends along Main Street and occupies a former railroad grade. This central park adds charm to the Saxton business district.

     The construction of the Raystown Dam and recreation areas in the 1970s provided a tourist economy to the region. Saxton is located on the southern end of the lake, only minutes from Weavers Falls boat ramp and 15 minutes from Lake Raystown Resort. The Saxton business district offers a full range of products and services to meet the needs of visitors to the area. Saxton is also the home of Seton Company, which manufactures quality leather interiors for luxury automobiles. The plant employs over 600 people and supplies such leading automotive companies as General Motors, Daimler - Chrysler, BMW, Nissan and Porsche.

     From 1962 to 1972 Saxton was also the home of Saxton Nuclear Experimental Corp., a subsidiary of GPU Energy. The second privately owned nuclear reactor in the US, Saxton Nuclear was a power and research reactor that was used to develop a number of technologies used today in the nuclear power industry. Saxton pioneered the use of boron in cooling water to control the chain reaction, and was also the first privately owned power reactor to use plutonium as fuel. Today the plant is being decommissioned and the site will be returned to nature.

Other communities.

     Coalmont, a small village, was named after its coal deposits (a "mountain" of coal). Dudley, which was founded in 1858 by L. T. Wattson, first president of the H&BTMRR, is named for a city in England. It was a major coal mining community until 1953. Broad Top City, at the top of the mountain, was a mining community and also the home of a major resort, the Broad Top Mountain House. The twin villages of Robertsdale and Wood were "company towns" of the Rockhill Coal Company, the region's largest mining company. Most of the houses were duplexes of a unique design that gained the communities the distinction as "historic districts" on the National Register of Historic Places. Riddlesburg was named for a Bedford County judge, Samuel Riddle, and was the setting for a large iron manufacturing plant which was, from 1868 to 1943, the county's largest industry. Defiance is named for the Defiance Store, a mercantile business that was started to break the monopoly of the "Company Store" at Riddlesburg. Six Mile Run (also called Coaldale) is named for the nearby stream, and was a coal mining community. Hopewell was founded by the Hopewell Coal & Iron Company and was a center for iron manufacture. One of its operations, the Keystone Foundry &