About Bangor Cork

Bancork and Banrite products have serviced schools, offices, churches, industrial plants, and other institutions for over fifty years. During this period we have manufactured only products of the highest quality and workmanship with expedient delivery. Our customer relationship is based on our

Commitment to Excellence.

Bancork and Banrite products are precision built and have maintained rigid field tests for many years.

We are most grateful to all our customers for their loyal support and dedication. The Bancork and Banrite names assure a Commitment to Excellence.

Contact Us

Have a question? Have a comment? Please contact us!

Phone: 610.759.0320 Office Hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Time
Fax: 610.759.0323
Mail:

Bangor Cork
PO Box 270
550 S. Green Street
Nazareth, PA 18064
USA

E-mail: sales@bangorcork.com

What is this Dragon for? A Brief History of the Slate Belt.

Before the Quakers and William Penn came to Pennsylvania, there was a large population of Welsh living in the region. They had begun to come during the seventeenth century, fleeing religious persecution. William Penn even promised to create a "Welsh Tract" for these inhabitants, of forty thousand acres in present-day southeastern Pennsylvania and northwestern Delaware, but it was never realized. Eventually, the Quakers and then German immigrants outnumbered the Welsh in the region, and Welsh influence in the region waned.

However, in about 1850, slate was first discovered in the town of Bangor by Robert M. Jones, a Welshman, also Bangor's founder. By 1855, the slate industry was thriving in the Bangor, Pen Argyl, and Wind Gap region. For the next 100 years, slate remained the most important industry for this area of Pennsylvania. Just after this time, there was a large immigration to this region of experienced Welsh miners from Northern and Central Wales, where the slate industry was a main aspect of the economy. They were enticed to emigrate to this region by the Welsh already living in the region, those whose ancestors had moved here during the seventeenth century. Thus, this region rich in slate deposits became known as the Slate Belt.

Along with their mining experience, the Welsh also brought along their culture and rich heritage. The Welsh flag is a red dragon on a green and white field. The red dragon symbolizes the original Britons, who became the Welsh. This is illustrated in traditional Welsh lore. It was probably originally a Roman emblem, later adapted by British chieftains to symbolize leaders of the Britons such as Uther Pendragon and his son Arthur, the great Welsh hero Owain Glyndwr, and Henry Tudor, before becoming the official flag of Wales.

Signs of the Welsh culture in Pennsylvania can still be seen throughout much of the eastern part of the state. Many cities in the southeastern region around Philadelphia have distinctly Welsh names, such as Bryn Mawr, Bala Cynwyd, Gwynedd, and St. David's (the patron saint of Wales). Welsh societies also dot the region from the Wyoming Valley to Philadelphia. The St. David's Welsh Society of the Slate Belt, located in Bangor, is one of these. The area continues to have a large population of Welsh descent who continue to celebrate their proud heritage through being active in these societies, learning about the past, and teaching the future.

*This article was written with aid from a survey entitled "Slate in Pennsylvania," by Charles H. Behre, Jr., and Benjamin L. Miller, published in Northampton County Pennsylvania Geology and Geography. Harrisburg, Pa.: Dept. of Internal Affairs, Topographic and Geologic Survey, 1939. *For more on the slate industry in Wales, see The Slate Industry of North and Mid Wales by Dave Sallery. *This article was written by Nicole L. Cory.