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Pardoe
was a thriving mining communing
about four miles east of Mercer in Findley Township.
The village was named for the Pardoe Brothers - William and Hunter, the owners
of the land where the Pardoe was built.
Mercer Mining and Manufacturing, and the
Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad were the life-blood of early
Pardoe. Pardoe had several major mines.
When mining was at its peak, between 1880 and
1910, the population of Pardoe rose to 2500 - 3500 inhabitants, many of
them immigrants from Germany, Austria, Scotland and England.
The large mines closed in the 1920s, followed by the smaller mines in
the 1930s. Today Pardoe is comprised of a few homes.
Businesses in Pardoe, according to the 1873
Combination Atlas for Mercer County: B. Heidrick, Dealer in Dry
Goods, Groceries, Boots, Shoe, Hardware & Etc.; two churches, a
Miners Hall and a post offices.
Landowners in Pardoe in 1873: Thomas Hosack, J. Scholk, D. Davies, Hugh
Hayton, Rich Humphrey, Ed. Buckham, R. Jones, H. Goodhead, R. H.
Humphrey, William Peters, C. Meek, A. Uhl, William Pardoe, Joseph
Myers, John Michaels, J. E. Hammond, John Daum, G. H. Moore, H. Krah,
and Joseph Hepting.
Pardoe, a
station on the P. S. & L. E. Railroad, is a sprightly village of
several hundred inhabitants. Its growth has been dependent upon the
activity of the adjoining coal mines, which have given occupation to
the people of the community. It was laid out in 1869 by the Mercer
Mining and Manufacturing Company. Lots for school and church purposes
were donated at the inception. Three churches, a Presbyterian, a
Methodist and a Catholic,have been since established, the organizations
dating back some ten years. Bernard Heidrich started the first store.
The property finally fell into the hands of C. M. Derickson, of Mercer.
History of Mercer County, 1888, pg. 528
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