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Blaenavon grew around an ironworks opened in 1788, part of which is now a museum. The steel-making and coal mining industries followed, boosting the town's population to over 20,000 at one time, but since the ironworks closed in 1900 and the coal mine in 1980, the population has declined.
Attractions in the town include the Big Pit National Coal Museum (an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage), Blaenavon Ironworks, the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway, Blaenavon World Heritage Centre, Blaenavon Male Voice Choir, Blaenavon Town Band and many historical walks through Blaenavon's mountains.
The Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway is a local tourist attraction. Blaenavon lost both of its passenger railway stations many years ago with Blaenavon High Level station closing as early as 1941 and the last train from Blaenavon (Low Level) to Newport via Pontypool Crane Street leaving in April 1962. Contrary to what is often remembered locally, the lower line had already been closed for more than a year before the notorious Beeching Axe came into effect. It was later disclosed that a number of rail passenger services within Monmouthshire were withdrawn in the early 1960s, not because they were doing particularly badly in financial terms, but because of severe rail congestion in the Newport area due to the amount of traffic coming from the then newly opened Llanwern steelworks.
Attempts were made in 2003 to turn around the town's image by introducing it as Wales' second "book town" (the first being Hay-on-Wye). However the project did not succeed. This can be attributed to a combination of the town's remote location and the established competition from Hay. There are many thriving community groups within the town, including Future Blaenavon, which has helped to create a community garden at the bottom of the town.
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