Pottsville photograph A.M. Allen made a trip to northern Schuylkill County to capture an image of the Shenandoah City Colliery.
Photograph from the 1860s shows incredible detail of the Shenandoah City Colliery
“New faces” | An April 1867 letter from the Pottsville Freedmen’s School
Fannie A. Couch wrote to Schuylkill County from Tennessee to provide updates about the Freedmen's School she was managing.
Frederick Douglass in Scranton, PA | November 1867
Frederick Douglass used his speech in Scranton to criticize Andrew Johnson, a racist president he viewed as a despot.
“Give all men a chance and fair play” – Frederick Douglass in Pottsville
Frederick Douglass gave two speeches in Pottsville, Pennsylvania in October 1867.
Pottsville teachers resign to head south and open school for freedpeople – February 1867
Fannie Couch and Hannah Streeper prepared to leave Schuylkill County to teach black students in Tennessee in 1867.
“Heroic cause of education” – Pottsville established a “Freedmen’s Relief Association” in 1867
In December 1866, a committee was formed in Pottsville that sought to fund and carry out education for former slaves in the war-torn South.
“A vivid flash of light” – An 1867 lightning strike electrocuted Wiconisco miners 1,000 feet below ground
In June 1867, a thunderstorm passed through Wiconisco, Pennsylvania and electrocuted miners deep within one of the town's coal mines.
Life of a Coal Mine Superintendent – The Diary of Gilliard Dock, 1867
Gilliard Dock served as superintendent at several Pennsylvania coal mines between 1865 and 1870. His journal tells the story.