Mount Washington: Exclusive Look At The Real Life White Ash

Mount Washington is what I think is the real life location of the titular town White Ash. Sure there are no dwarves, elves, or anything mythical going around there. But then again, I’m just best guessing where this fantasy-romance series takes place. All that Charlie Stickney and Conor Hughes say is that it’s in Western Pennsylvania. Which considering the coal mines and white ash trees, I might be onto something. Or I could just be looking for an excuse to get that travel affiliate.

White Ash Is In West Pennsylvania

In any case, White Ash follows an unlikely falling in love story. The protagonist Aleck Zwerg is a half dwarf ready to leave behind the titular town. But he discovers his heritage after his father and friends get attacked by a deadly creature. The deuteragonist Lillian Alden is an elf who wishes to be the town peacekeeper. A bit of a noblesse oblige situation considering her father runs the town’s money. They have an uneasy relationship, especially since their families have been at odds for centuries. It has something to do with the world ash tree Yggdrasil supposedly somewhere in the area. But each family is holding sinister secrets of their own.

Back to Mount Washington

But we’re not here to discuss love triangles, or awkward family dramas. Let alone historical context of Norse cults in Pennsylvania. Partly because I couldn’t find one. At best this was just the creators putting things together because of West Pennsylvainia’s ash tree population. That and the coal mines are perfect for dwarves.

But what place in West Pennsylvania specifically? Honestly I can’t hammer an exact place down. Aside from a high amount of ash trees, West PA’s littered with coal mines. Most of these are abandoned for obvious reasons: pollution, sinkholes, and the all important safety hazards.

So why does Mount Washington seem like the basis for this small town? Because it’s where West PA’s coal industry began! It didn’t get the nickname Coal Hill for having the wood for President George’s teeth! Plus mine Number 9, the only PA coal mine I could find that’s still running, is way too far away from West PA. So grab your pickaxes and safety helmets and join me on this virtual tour. What? You can’t be too careful about this place.

Mount Washington and Sliding Banks

Mount Washington is a 600 foot mountain with quite a view! Aside from the white ash trees and other lumbering trunks decorating a cliff, its border with the Monongahela river is a popular tourist trap. Ironically Monongahela is Coal Hill’s Unami name. Wait people thought this mountain tasted good? No, that’s Umami! Unami’s one of the Lenape Nation’s divisions.

In any case settlers learned about the Coal Seam… which as you can expect played a part in getting the Lenape and its neighbors removed. Funnily enough the Iroquois Confederacy chiefs had the mining rights for a while. Probably because some people didn’t want to risk another mine fire.

Uh… back to Coal Hill… the coal mining fueled Pittsburgh’s growth to become the steel-making city it is today! So yeah, the football team my dad is a die-hard fan of got its name for the above reasons. Because of how huge the seam is, more mines started to pop up to cash in on the trend.

Coal’s Effects

By 1830 Pittsburgh consumed more than 400 tons of “soft” coal a day as its main fuel source. Plus its byproduct coke helped push the industry even further. Ergo, not Coca-Cola or Cocaine. With saw mills and railroads are added to the mix, the mines helped produce industrial juggernauts. But like most revolutions fortunes shift away with advances in technology and the Great Depression. As such most of the mines shut down, with only a few boiler houses still standing.

That’s just the economic side, on the environmental front coal mining practically made Mount Washington a wasteland. With property value dropping, 20th century Pittsburgh worked to reverse the damage. Coal Hill is now just a nickname thanks to how green it is. These days, coal mining is underground and it has to follow strict regulations. Because nobody needs another Coal Hill tragedy.

Make You Wanna Visit?

Mount Washington is certainly a place worthy of attention even if it’s not a real White Ash location. Its coal mining history holds a special place in the state of Pennsylvania. Sure it’s just a bunch of ruins overtaken by the forest by now. But who knows it could be as romantic as the comic it shares a setting with.

Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.