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Burd Patterson (1788–1867)

The ironmaster-developer of early Pottsville. Markers: ★ verified · ✔ confirmed · ✎ corrects a common error · ⚑ open/caution.

Burd Patterson built the first successful smelter of anthracite iron — the Pottsville Furnace, in 1839–40 — a milestone in the marriage of coal and iron that the state historical marker for him records. ★ He had earlier developed a slope method for mining below the water table (1835), and he belonged to the Anglo-Celtic capital-and-engineering class that built the coal-county seat’s early institutions atop a German-founded town. ★

His civic footprint was broad, though the county histories state it with care. ⚑ Pottsville’s 1828 borough incorporation came about “partly due to his efforts,” and he was “among those who created” Ashland and Mahanoy City — a contributor and promoter, not a sole founder. ★ His Mahantongo Street home was the first of that street’s mansions and survives as the NRHP-listed Burd Patterson House — a distinct entity from the man himself.

✎ He was born in 1788 in the Scots-Irish-settled region of central Pennsylvania — in what is now Juniata County, a county not erected until 1831 — making him Pennsylvania-born rather than a New England “Yankee,” a distinction the county’s founding story tends to blur. ★ He lived in Pottsville until his death in 1867. ⚑ (The exact birth and death days given in marker sources — July 8, 1788 and March 30, 1867 — rest on secondary records; this page records the years.)

His place among Pottsville’s commercial founders is set out in the Scots-Irish & New England settlers profile.

Sources

Frequently asked

What did Burd Patterson do for Pottsville?
He was an early developer and ironmaster: he built the Pottsville Furnace — the first successful smelter of anthracite iron, in 1839–40 — developed a slope method for mining below the water table (1835), helped drive Pottsville's 1828 borough incorporation, and was among those who planned Ashland and Mahanoy City. His Mahantongo Street home was the first of that street's mansions and is now the NRHP-listed Burd Patterson House.
Was Burd Patterson a New Englander?
No. He was born in 1788 in the Scots-Irish-settled region of central Pennsylvania (in what is now Juniata County), making him Pennsylvania-born rather than a New England 'Yankee' — a distinction worth keeping straight in the county's Anglo-Celtic founding story.