Lewis W. Hine’s photograph reveals the faces of breaker boys, children working in harsh conditions for meager pay. Witness their stories and learn how these images sparked national reform against child labor. A haunting, pivotal chapter in Coal Region history. Read the full story.
Discover how child workers in Harwood, Pennsylvania formed their own union in 1902, challenging exploitative conditions and uniting for fair treatment. This rare glimpse, documented in McClure’s Magazine, reveals the power of young activism during the Coal Strike. Read the full story.
Take a rare look at an 1863 illustration of the Oxford Colliery in Scranton, where “breaker boys” sorted anthracite by hand amid roaring machinery. Discover how these early breakers shaped Pennsylvania’s coal industry. Read the full story.
Meet Joseph Puma, a young Sicilian immigrant caught in the harsh world of Pennsylvania coal mining in 1911. Captured by Lewis Hine’s lens, his story spans from the dark tunnels of Pittston to serving overseas during World War I. Read the full story.
Explore Lewis Hine’s 1911 photograph of breaker boys in Pittston, Pennsylvania, capturing the harsh realities of child labor in the coal mines. This image, part of Hine’s work for the National Child Labor Committee, highlights the young workers’ lives and the efforts to reform labor practices. Read the Full Story.
Neil Gallagher lost his leg in 1904 to a mining accident. Years later a photographer documented his story.
Author Stephen Crane made a visit to a coal mine near Scranton in 1894 for an article in McClure's Magazine.
A gripping, harrowing story documents the lives and struggles of Coal Region children shortly after the Great Coal Strike of 1902.
In 1897, a former breaker boy penned a poem in remembrance of the child laborers of the Coal Region.
A memoir from the 1930s describes the hard life of a breaker boy in Civil War-era Schuylkill County.