Hard coal built this area of eastern Pennsylvania into an economic powerhouse in the 1800s and early 1900s, and helped fuel the nation’s industrial revolution. Even today, it’s hard to find a native who doesn’t have roots underground.

So it was with no small dose of irony that Schuylkill County leaders recently offered a proposal that would have seemed unthinkable when coal was still king: converting the county courthouse and prison from homegrown anthracite to — gasp — natural gas heat.

The county commissioners say they’re trying to save money, a familiar refrain of local governments looking to trim costs amid the nation’s economic downturn.

But their idea went over like an anthracite balloon with coal executives and coal-region lawmakers, who say the county is sending the wrong message about coal’s future — and disrespecting its past.