Wandering Aimlessly

 

Dy-no-mite – Part I
by Phil Burkhouse

In some of the small native streams where the boys and I fish for brookies, we often pass by remnants of buildings remaining in our county from a once-thriving business known as the dynamite industry. Some of the names of these companies became the permanent name for hollows where these plants were located. Names such as Hercules Hollow, Climax Hollow, and Keystone Manor are named for the Hercules Powder Company, Climax Powder Company, and Keystone Powder Company.
In all, Cameron County had nine dynamite and powder manufacturing companies dispersed throughout the county in operation from the late 1800s through 1957. Two of these plants were located down county—one in Grove Run and the other in Wykoff Run. The remaining plants were located within several miles of Emporium. It is interesting to note why we had so many dynamite plants located in our area.

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