And a German immigrant with a (now) famous last name raced to Schuylkill County to quench the city's thirst for suds.
As Pottsville rapidly expanded in the 1820s, it was missing something important: beer
A colorized postcard of Millersburg, Pennsylvania
This newly acquired postcard shows Millersburg, Pennsylvania and the wide Susquehanna River as it winds through the mountains.
A rare photograph of Shamokin’s East End in the 19th century
We recently acquired a new image of this Coal Region community in Northumberland County.
An 1835 visit to the mines at Wiconisco Township
In 1834 and 1835, a scientist named Constantine Samuel Rafinesque traveled widely through Pennsylvania in order to document the geology and biology of the Keystone State. In the spring of 1835, the Turkish-born polymath traveled north from Harrisburg aboard canal boats alongside the Susquehanna River to Millersburg. In his book, A Life of Travels, Rafinesque details … Continue reading An 1835 visit to the mines at Wiconisco Township
Photograph from the 1860s shows incredible detail of the Shenandoah City Colliery
Pottsville photograph A.M. Allen made a trip to northern Schuylkill County to capture an image of the Shenandoah City Colliery.
A Scottish immigrant’s remarkable working history in 1850s Schuylkill County (Part 2)
This is a piece continued from last week. You can read Part 1 of our brief series on the remembrances of Robert Weir from 1914 HERE. After describing his arrival in the Coal Region in 1852, Robert Weir turned to discussing his work in Schuylkill County as a hoisting engineer in various collieries in the … Continue reading A Scottish immigrant’s remarkable working history in 1850s Schuylkill County (Part 2)
“My brains and my wits” – A Scottish immigrant recalls his arrival in Schuylkill County in 1852
An 84-year-old sat down with a Pottsville Republican reporter in October 1914 for a discussion about what it was like to live and work in Schuylkill County in the mid-19th century. Robert Weir came to the Coal Region from Scotland in 1852 and found work in the coal mines in the vicinity of Branchdale, Forestville, and Heckscherville. … Continue reading “My brains and my wits” – A Scottish immigrant recalls his arrival in Schuylkill County in 1852
A photograph of Shenandoah from the collections of the New York Public Library
The photograph by Michael Dockweiler shows the Schuylkill County mining community as it appeared in the late 19th century.
“Richmond has fallen! Richmond is ours!” – A victory poem from April 1865
Claude Merchant's April 1865 poem summed up the feelings in Pottsville, Pennsylvania after the Confederate capital fell to US forces.
Grievances of Williamstown miners against the Pennsylvania Railroad Company – 1886
"We are men and all we ask is to be treated as such," wrote the miners in a public letter published during their 1886 strike.
