During the Great 1902 Coal Strike, entire families in Plymouth, Pennsylvania, scoured towering culm banks, salvaging bits of anthracite to keep their homes warm. This gripping scene, recorded by a Brooklyn Eagle reporter, reveals the stark realities of the era’s labor turmoil. Read the full story.
This powerful photograph from Wilkes-Barre’s Parsons neighborhood captured striking miners threatening “scabs” who crossed picket lines. The historic 1902 Coal Strike reshaped labor organizing in Pennsylvania’s anthracite fields, leading to lasting gains for workers. Read the full story.
Discover Christmas history with Jake Wynn – Public Historian. From Civil War-era celebrations to Prohibition and World War II, explore how communities and people across Pennsylvania celebrated Christmas over the last 200 years. Enjoy these top Christmas stories from the archives. Read the stories.
Discover Thanksgiving history with Jake Wynn – Public Historian. From Civil War-era celebrations to the 1902 Coal Strike and World War I, explore how communities across Pennsylvania celebrated Thanksgiving during times of struggle and hope. Enjoy these top Thanksgiving stories from the archives. Read the stories.
A gripping, harrowing story documents the lives and struggles of Coal Region children shortly after the Great Coal Strike of 1902.
This dispatch from the 1902 Coal Strike eloquently describes the battle lines as the strike entered its pivotal fifth month.
On Thanksgiving Day 1902, Reverend John Hensyl addressed a congregation in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, just weeks after the end of the historic 1902 Coal Strike. His sermon focused on the harsh realities faced by the region’s mineworkers and called attention to the systemic poverty that plagued working families. Hensyl’s message reflected the growing Progressive Era call for institutional reform to address the inequities created by powerful corporations. Explore how this pivotal moment in labor history was echoed in the pulpit. Read the full story.
A look at the perspectives of the mine workers of far western Schuylkill County as the 1902 coal strike began.
On the eve of the 1902 Coal Strike, the communities of Lykens and Wiconisco were ripped by tension as residents awaited news.
An introduction to a Wynning History series about the 1902 Coal Strike in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania.