In December 1873, a 4,000 foot tunnel was completed through Big Lick Mountain in Dauphin County. Williamstown Tunnel opened up Bear Valley for profitable coal mining.
The completion of Williamstown Tunnel – 1873

In December 1873, a 4,000 foot tunnel was completed through Big Lick Mountain in Dauphin County. Williamstown Tunnel opened up Bear Valley for profitable coal mining.
A writer's visit to the Coal Region and his fascinating, but scathing opinions about what he found - Summer of 1873
In June 1940, an American Red Cross chapter in Luzerne County used a powerful photograph of refugees to encourage donations for war relief.
American relief efforts for Ukrainian war refugees in 2022 echoes a previous campaign in Schuylkill County during World War I.
Author Stephen Crane made a visit to a coal mine near Scranton in 1894 for an article in McClure's Magazine.
This story by H.L. Nelson shares the dismal realities of life in the mining patch towns Northeastern Pennsylvania in the 1880s.
The Shenandoah Evening Herald ran a moving editorial on Christmas Eve 1945 about the meaning of the holiday after World War II.
A patriotic, holiday-themed beer advertisement from the Wilkes-Barre-based Stegmaier Brewing Company appeared in December 1944.
The final chapter in our "Letters from War" series on Sergeant Irvin Schwartz and his service in World War II.
In one of our final posts in the Letters from War series, we examine Irvin Schwartz's post-war life.