In September 1864, Schuylkill County’s Jacob Shade was killed at the Battle of Peebles Farm during the Siege of Petersburg. A 30-year-old laborer turned soldier, Shade left behind a widow and children—one of hundreds from the Coal Region who gave their lives for the Union during the Civil War. Read the full story.
In this 1864 photo, the USS Canonicus ironclad refuels with anthracite coal, the almost-smokeless fuel from Pennsylvania’s Coal Region that powered the Union blockade during the Civil War. Discover how this vital resource helped shape naval strategy and fueled dramatic changes across Northeastern Pennsylvania. Read the full story.
From Shenandoah, PA to a rain-soaked military hospital in France, Bugler Joseph A. Nicholas writes of a shattered leg, ether, exhaustion, and pride at going “over the top” in the Meuse-Argonne during WW1. He survived to come home, but his letter holds the war’s ache and grit in every line. Read the full story.
An 1854 view of Mount Carbon’s grand Mansion House Hotel stands beside the Schuylkill River and canal, once welcoming travelers to Pottsville, PA. Read more and see the detailed image.
Step back to September 1900, when Mother Jones took the podium in Shenandoah, PA to ignite a fledgling anthracite strike. This rare image from the Philadelphia Inquirer shows Mary Harris “Mother” Jones rallying miners for the United Mine Workers of America cause - an important moment in Coal Region labor history. Read the full story.
On the blood-soaked fields of Antietam, a captain from Scranton, PA wrote home of the horrors of a Civil War battlefield and the fall of the regiment’s colonel. Bullets tore through bodies, faces masked in smoke and dust, boys became veterans in minutes. This firsthand letter from the 132nd Pennsylvania brings the battle almost unbearably close, in raw detail. Read the full story.
In January 1865, an Irish emigrant in Scranton wrote home with urgency and affection: he’s prepaid a passage, warns that “gold is so high,” and begs his brother-in-law to come—packing pipes, oatmeal, and “Paddy’s eye water.” Amid war, paper money, and longing, the letter captures the costs, logistics, and hope of Coal Region migration. Read the full story.
The Great Depression hit Pennsylvania’s Coal Region hard. Collieries shuttered, jobs vanished, and families scraped by with bootleg mining, relief drives, and New Deal work. In my latest RealClear Pennsylvania column, I trace the collapse from Black Tuesday to efforts in towns like Williamstown and Lykens to survive the depression—and what lingers today. Read the full story.
At just 18, Private James Kaercher left Pennsylvania’s Coal Region to fight for the Union at the Battle of South Mountain. A Confederate bullet cut short his service, leading to a five-month struggle before his passing. Read his story.
In 1855, Pottsville raised a monument to Henry Clay - the “Great Compromiser” whose vision for canals, rails, and industry helped unleash the Coal Region’s boom in the 19th century. I trace the statue's history and why Clay’s ideas appear in today’s fights over infrastructure, trade, and partisanship. Read the full story.