This photograph appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer in September 1900 as the nation’s attention focused on the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania.

The United Mine Workers of America launched a strike on September 17, 1900 and used the strike as an effort to grow their union. As part of their efforts, UMWA President John Mitchell used pro-labor speakers to mobilize mine workers across the Coal Region.

On the evening of September 18th, speakers addressed a skeptical crowd of mineworkers in Shenandoah in an effort to encourage them to join the strike. Among the speakers was Mary Harris “Mother Jones,” a prominent labor activist who worked with the UMWA to support their efforts.

Though their efforts on the 18th came to naught, subsequent efforts in Schuylkill and Luzerne county patch towns gained traction and the effort to unionize mineworkers picked up momentum.

Workers began going out on strike in the days that followed and on the night of September 20-21, Shenandoah’s collieries were closed down as its workers joined the UMWA’s strike.

The 1900 Coal Strike ended with the UMWA claiming success and set the stage for the much larger, more effective 1902 Coal Strike. “Mother Jones” became a hero to the labor movement and to the unionized mineworkers of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

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Read more about the 1900 Coal Strike

“Mother Jones” leads women’s march to support the 1900 Coal Strike

Deadly riots in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania | 1900

Interviews with women during the 1900 Coal Strike reveal details of hardship and struggle in the patch towns near Hazleton

A journalist’s description of John Mitchell, leader of the United Mine Workers of America | 1900

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