In this photograph taken just after the Civil War, two miners stand at the entrance to the Lykens Valley Drift at Bear Gap near Wiconisco, PA. Opened in 1831, the tunnel once stretched miles into Big Lick Mountain. Within a generation, new technology would push mining far deeper underground. Read the Full Story.
“I had three miles to walk every morning to get to my work.” In the fall of 1831, coal mining in northern Dauphin County began with a single stone mason and a long walk into the wilderness at Bear Gap. What started as one small job would grow into an industry that employed thousands of people. Read the Full Story.
This 1862 illustration captures the coal mines at Bear Gap during the Civil War, showing how industry, railroads, and labor shaped northern Dauphin County at a pivotal moment. For me, it brings a familiar landscape back to life as it once was. Read the full story.
This 1860s photograph captures mining operations at Bear Gap, where men, mules, and machines pulled anthracite from deep underground. It’ offers a look at how coal shaped daily life in Wiconisco Township during the Civil War era. Read the full story.
Discover a rare photograph capturing locomotive “George P. Upton” hauling anthracite along the Lykens Valley Railroad. Explore Bear Gap’s bustling mines, the route to Millersburg, and how Lykens Valley coal powered East Coast cities. Read the full story.
In 1933, mineworkers in Dauphin County fought to save their jobs as the Great Depression threatened to close the Short Mountain Colliery.
An 1860s photograph shows the inclined plane at Wiconsico that carried loaded coal cars down to the main line of the Lykens Valley Railroad.
Three mineworkers were killed in their makeshift coal mine when the roof caved in during a 1934 mine accident.
Corporal Nicholas Leshko visited Rome after being wounded in the fighting to take the city in 1944.
The Zimmerman brothers from Wiconisco, Pennsylvania all served in the US Army during the First World War.