The Coal Region’s economic woes featured in book: “The Year of Peril: America in 1942”

In Tracy Campbell's 2020 book, the author uses the examples from the anthracite coal fields to show how our national myths about World War II often miss the mark.

A Thanksgiving sermon in the aftermath of the 1902 Coal Strike

Rev. John Hensyl spoke to a packed crowd in Shenandoah's Presbyterian Church about poverty on Thanksgiving Day 1902.

Toxic gasses from a burning coal mine claimed the lives of two Tamaqua mining officials in 1858

Pennsylvania's anthracite coal fields have long been known for long-lasting mine fires. The most famous of these environmental disasters continues burning today beneath the empty town lots known as Centralia in Columbia County. Mine fires were a feared menace dating back to the first underground mines in the region. One of the early mine fires … Continue reading Toxic gasses from a burning coal mine claimed the lives of two Tamaqua mining officials in 1858

“As tempting…as California” – A traveler’s guide to Pottsville in 1852

A travel writer vividly described Pottsville and the surrounding region of Schuylkill County in 1852.

A New York Times reporter documents the turbulent situation in the Coal Region – 1863

In the spring of 1863, a journalist documented the chaotic and changing situation in the Coal Region as the Civil War raged on.

A powerful editorial from Pottsville’s black community – 1940

In the summer of 1940, a new minister at Pottsville's Bethel AME Church sought to reach out to the Coal Region's white community for economic cooperation.