On Halloween eve 1938, Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” sent Tower City, PA into panic. Families huddled to “go together,” eyes searched the sky, one man spent every dollar he had at a local store—and the West Schuylkill Herald took notes. Read the full story.
On Thanksgiving Day 1938, with the Great Depression still hanging over Schuylkill County, Pottsville flipped the switch on Christmas – Centre Street draped in spruce and laurel, banks sending out thousands in Christmas Club checks, and downtown shops “dolled up” for the season. This piece walks through the decorations, displays, and small luxuries that brought a little light to a hard year in the Coal Region. Read the full story.
In 1859 at Tuckerville Colliery in Schuylkill County, 32-year-old Irish mineworker John Hinch was pulled headfirst into the breaker rollers - an unthinkable death reported in chilling detail by the Miners’ Journal. His story lays bare the daily peril of Coal Region work before safety laws existed. Read the full story.
On an October morning in 1864, six miners entered a Schuylkill County colliery and never returned. Despite a frantic rescue, all were lost—with grieving families left behind. This Civil War–era disaster reveals the peril that stalked Pennsylvania’s coal towns before safety laws and reforms followed. Read the full story.
On Election Night 1864, politics turned deadly in Tremont, PA. After Schuylkill County voters re-elected Congressman Myer Strouse, a band of Irish mineworkers—calling themselves the “Bloody 69th”—paraded through town. Hours later, 25-year-old George W. Thompson was beaten to death. No one was ever tried. This is the Coal Region’s volatile Civil War era—press bias, ethnic tension, and justice denied—told through one forgotten murder. Read the full story.
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.
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.
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.
From runaway drummer boy to Pottsville’s own “Williams the Hatter,” John H. Williams carved a path of daring and enterprise. After Civil War service as a teenager, he founded a thriving hatter shop in 1870, becoming one of the county’s youngest and most renowned, respected merchants. Read the full story.
This 1900 colorized postcard reveals a bustling colliery in northern Schuylkill County, where towering breakers and constant rail traffic powered America’s industrial age. \ Explore how Mahanoy City thrived on anthracite coal, fueling expansion until the industry’s decline in the mid-20th century. Read the full story.