Delta, PA
Home of the World Famous Peach Bottom Slate
Roofing slate was once a very valuable and desirable commodity in the United States. While it is true that slate roofs last for many years and are very pleasing to the eye, the main purpose for the use of slate on a roof was protection from the scourge of early cities and towns -- fire! Before the availability of fire protection, entire communities would catch fire as most early houses had roofing shingles made of wood.
In 1734, two Welsh pioneer farmers who had settled in Peach Bottom Township discovered slate on their land, where the slate ridge above Delta is located. They proceeded to roof their buildings with this material -- the first use of native slate in North America.
In 1785, two men from Baltimore by the names of Carmen and Docher opened a slate quarry for commercial purposes, at what is now the present-day site of the Funkhouser quarry 1/4 mile east of Delta Borough. This was the first such quarry in the United States.
The industry gradually developed, with starts and stops, until 1840, when the newly-completed Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal enabled the very heavy slate to be easily transported to the growing communities all over the country. About this same point in time, the expanding slate industry caused many workers from the north of Wales to emigrate to Peach Bottom Township and northern Harford County, Maryland.
The town of Delta was gradually built along the slate ridge to house many of these workers and the accompanying businesses. When the railroad from York reached Delta in 1876, it caused further expansion of the slate industry and Delta grew to reach its maximum population of about 900 by 1910.
By this time, Peach Bottom slate had attained a world-wide reputation as the finest roofing slate available. It was specified for use by many famous architects of the day, and was placed on the roof of the famous Biltmore estate of George Vanderbilt in Ashville, North Carolina, in the 1890's. Other uses include many famous government buildings such as the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and the State Capitol Building in Harrisburg, PA.
By the end of World War I, the roofing industry saw the introduction of cheaper roofing materials, and our local slate industry saw a long decline to the point where production ceased in 1942.
Today the famous Peach Bottom Slate survives as testament to its quality on many buildings both in Delta and all across the United States. Some slates have been in use for over 250 years.