Frederick Hitchcock reflects on the valiant service of Black soldiers in the Civil War | 1892

Posted on by Jake Wynn

In 1892, Colonel Frederick Hitchcock stood before a room of fellow veterans in Scranton, PA and said what needed saying — that the nation's treatment of the nearly 200,000 Black men who fought for the Union during the Civil War was "an everlasting shame." Read the full story.

A failed Halloween prank on the trolley tracks at Plymouth, Pennsylvania | October 1892

Posted on by Jake Wynn
Ghost story failed Halloween Prank Plymouth PA 1892 Jake Wynn Public Historian

In 1892, a Halloween prank in Plymouth, PA backfired when a would-be “ghost” tried to spook trolley crews on night-time duty. Instead of fleeing in terror, the motormen and conductors grabbed the costumed prankster and hauled him aboard. The joke ended with an unmasked walk home. Read the full story.