Hannastown is located near the site of
Historic Hanna’s Town, established as the first seat of Westmoreland County in 1773. The Hannastown
coal town was established by the Jamison Coal & Coke Company in 1899. The Jamison Coal & Coke Company was among the major
coal and
coke producers in Westmoreland County in the early 20th century. Formed in 1892, Jamison was based in
Greensburg and operated mines at
Luxor, Hannastown,
Crabtree, Forbes Road, Highland, and
Pleasant Unity. The Jamison Coal & Coke Company opened the Hannastown mine in 1899. Hannastown, known as No. 2, was the second of Jamison’s coal properties after Luxor. Hannastown had a shaft-entry mine and used
beehive ovens to transform coal into coke. It was serviced by the Alexandria branch of the
Pennsylvania Railroad. About one-third of Jamison's corporate earnings were derived from workers making purchases at company stores, a trend observed across southwestern Pennsylvania in the early 20th century. In the early 1920s, the Jamison company struggled amid a postwar slump in the market and the
United Mine Workers coal strike of 1922. From 1922 to 1930, Jamison leased its mines, including Hannastown, to the Keystone Coal & Coke Company. Jamison resumed control of the Westmoreland County mines in 1930. By 1940, employed 375 miners and produced 3,500 tons of coal daily. Jamison closed the Hannastown operation in 1949. Structures related to the mine and coke works were later demolished. The beehive ovens were buried with coal refuse in 1972. About 80 company-built houses remain, which are now private residences. == References ==