“In a democracy we are not all of the same mind, but we are all of the same purpose.” In 1939, as authoritarian regimes reshaped education across Europe, a rabbi in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region offered a different vision rooted in independent thought and cooperation. His words reveal how Americans understood democracy on the eve of World War II. Read the Full Story.
In 1929, Schuylkill County author Joseph H. Zerbe lamented how living recollections of the Civil War were slipping away as veterans passed on. He feared younger generations, detached from personal stories and tangible reminders, might lose connection to their county’s important Civil War legacy. Read the full story and essay.
Medical officials and public school administrators worked together to enforce a mandate that students receive the smallpox vaccine in 1855.
In two detailed letters, the teachers at the Pottsville Freedmen's School highlighted their educational efforts in Tennessee.
Fannie A. Couch wrote to Schuylkill County from Tennessee to provide updates about the Freedmen's School she was managing.
The teachers from the Pottsville Freedmen's Relief Association penned a letter home to Pennsylvania in March 1867.
Charles H. King, Jr. eloquently described his childhood in Pottsville in his book, "Fire in my Bones."
A newspaper clipping from March 1867 provided an update about the efforts of the Pottsville Freedmen's Relief Association teachers.
Fannie Couch and Hannah Streeper prepared to leave Schuylkill County to teach black students in Tennessee in 1867.