Greater Appalachia spans from Northern Alabama through Upstate New York. The long province shares many cultural and social similarities. Nonetheless, Appalachia is divided by a history of immigration, slavery, war, and industrial production. Two sides formed. This book focuses on “Northern Appalachia.” Northern Appalachia includes western Maryland, eastern Ohio, central and western Pennsylvania, and most of New York State. Combined, Northern Appalachia is an area of unequivocal history, culture, and national importance.

Northern Appalachia was once a great industrial power – easily the richest and most productive region in the world. Some of America’s greatest cities rose with the success of coal, steel, and railroads. In the early 20th century, places like Reading, PA, Youngstown, OH, and Buffalo, NY, were the image of prosperity. Their position along national infrastructure, their abundance of labor, and their proximity to natural resources made the cities boom with life and money. At the same time, places like Palo Alto, CA, and Portland, OR were small, backwater places. Stanford University was a local farmer’s college.

By the end of the 20th century, the situation reversed dramatically. Palo Alto became the center of the global technology industry. Portland grew into a technological and cultural hub. Stanford became one of the most wealthy and influential universities in the world. In stark contrast, Reading, PA was a crumbling shell of factories and rail yards. Youngstown was more known for its mafia and gangland associations. Buffalo was no longer talked about as one of America’s great cities. While the overall wealth of America has increased substantially since 1900, the path to prosperity has hollowed out places like Reading, Youngstown, and Buffalo.

Northern Appalachia spurred some of America's greatest companies: U.S. Steel, Standard Oil, and Alcoa, to name a few. Even before mega-industry, a plethora of forges, furnaces, quarries, and surface mines saturated the land. The labor of hammer, pick, and shovel is deeply embedded in social traditions and ethics across Northern Appalachia. The region fostered generations of prosperity, as well as some of America’s most famous politicians, soldiers, artists, businesspeople, and scholars.

Present problems mix with a glorious past and a disparate America. This book investigates the unique economics of Northern Appalachia. The overall goal is to move forward with wisdom and legitimacy.

Legitimate solutions – solutions that real people might embrace - require understanding. Geography is one way to achieve understanding: being aware of the land and its challenges or gifts. This book often analyzes natural resources and logistical capabilities. Demographics and statistics are a second way to foster understanding. Another way to better understand a region is to understand its history. What events led to the current state of things? Such knowledge helps place real people in real time and space. History also helps make sense of the most nebulous but most important aspect of a region’s identity: culture. 

Culture is a flexible term. In broad strokes, it is a combination of ethics, tradition, and social norms. People may struggle to identify everything about their own culture. But those same people live according to their culture every day. Culture inundates life, from work to politics to passing the time. Culture is especially strong in groups of people with a strong historical awareness, even if that awareness is biased or flawed. In the modern day, Northern Appalachia is a more ethnically diverse region. But the established culture is inescapable.

Northern Appalachians continue a proud culture of blue-collar industrialism. Most residents believe in hard work, humility, respect for each other, and personal responsibility. They are tough but happy to lend a helping hand. Families are content to earn an honest income, claim a small part of the earth as their home, and push their children to higher standards of living. Despite modern challenges, the long-established traditions live on. New generations find modest opportunities through hard work and perseverance.

In the next two chapters, I will reveal a distinct and fascinating economic history. Understanding that history is essential to understanding Northern Appalachia’s enduring culture. First, I outline the long and storied history of greater Appalachia. For a long time, Northern Appalachia was the most important region of America. It was the battlegrounds of the American Revolution and the American Civil War. It was also the birthplace and pinnacle of America’s industrial revolution. Northern Appalachia is defined by success in all phases of American history, up to the mid-20th century. 

In the 20th century, triumphant history became tragic. Chapter 2 outlines the broad economic events that led to Northern Appalachia's post-industrial downfall. How did a region, once the most prosperous and important in America, become a region of desolation and blight? The chapter reviews the onset of post-industrial business and globalism. Modern transportation, education, and social dynamics are outlined. Despite present poverty, many Appalachians retain the pride and strong beliefs of their descendants. Much social energy is put into maintaining or restoring a glorious past.

The book then turns to more urgent, modern-day economic issues. Chapter 3 outlines important economic concepts and regional applications.

Chapter 4 studies the modern coal industry of West Virginia. Coal may be the most prolific symbol of Northern Appalachia. And West Virginia is unabashedly attached to coal as a product and ideal. Nonetheless, modern West Virginia is making efforts to move beyond coal. The urgent question becomes: Does coal have a future in West Virginia? In the modern day, coal can enable or disable economic development in West Virginia. 

Chapter 5 turns to the state of Pennsylvania. Once again, the energy industry pervades old Appalachia. The chapter outlines the history of natural gas exploration and development in Pennsylvania, especially Western and Northern Pennsylvania – the Marcellus Shale region. Several major economic development projects are summarized and critiqued. Using those lessons, some key questions are distilled. Pennsylvania is ascending in some ways and sputtering in others. Pennsylvania can realize sustainable progress, or else fall with the luck of natural gas businesses. 

Chapter 6 addresses Upstate New York. Generally, the region is more economically modern than other areas of Northern Appalachia. But it still suffers from a long post-industrial decline – especially when measured against the metropolis of New York City. To better understand the dynamics and needs of Upstate New York, we take a long journey through a modern economic campaign called “Tech Valley.” Myriad Tech Valley efforts focus on nanotechnology, especially the production of microchips. The chapter also considers modern American movements in globalism and foreign policy, such as the CHIPS Act. In the end, Upstate New Yorkers have two paths: one to the past, and another to a challenging but uplifting future. 

The journey is tough, dirty, and perilous - much like Northern Appalachia itself. But the journey is also fascinating, inspiring, and ultimately helpful.