Sergeant Henry Keiser had escaped serious injury throughout the Civil War. His luck nearly ran out on October 19, 1864.
A Lykens Civil War soldier’s close brush with death at the Battle of Cedar Creek, October 1864
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
Petitions for a new Pennsylvania county called “Lykens” in 1837
In 1837, residents of three Pennsylvania counties filed petitions seeking to form their own county called "Lykens." Their efforts were unsuccessful.
An important moment in Coal Region history took place in a Philadelphia coffee house in 1831
In 1831, a land sale took place at a coffee house in Philadelphia that launched coal mining operations in northern Dauphin County.
“In Scarlet Fever’s Grip” – This 1910 epidemic crippled Lykens and closed schools and businesses
In 1910, an epidemic of scarlet fever spun out of control in the Coal Region community of Lykens and left a trail of bodies in its wake.
“The Impending Strike” – Lykens on the eve of the 1902 Coal Strike
On the eve of the 1902 Coal Strike, the communities of Lykens and Wiconisco were ripped by tension as residents awaited news.
A Wynning History summer project will explore 1902 coal strike in Williams Valley
An introduction to a Wynning History series about the 1902 Coal Strike in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania.
“No charge for medical service” – The US Army and Lykens officials covered medical costs in town’s 1918 emergency hospital
Medical care administered at the emergency hospital in Lykens during the 1918 influenza pandemic was free of charge.
A 1919 history of the Short Mountain Coal Company – Wiconisco Township
Founded in 1851, the Short Mountain Coal Company grew rapidly during the Civil War in association with the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Captain Richard Budd – Civil War veteran and pioneer of Williamstown
Budd served during the Civil War and later became a prominent citizen in Dauphin County's largest mining community.
