In August 1905, mineworkers in Wilkes-Barre took to the streets under the banner of the United Mine Workers of America as union leader John Mitchell came to town. This photograph captures their parade through the city’s east end, marching down Maxwell Street toward the Jersey Central tracks, a show of strength just a few years after the hard-fought 1902 Coal Strike. Read the full story.
Meet a young mineworker who joined striking miners in the 1900 Coal Strike, stopping operations and rallying adults to his cause. Discover how these determined youth shaped a defining moment in Pennsylvania’s anthracite history. Read the full story.
Explore Olivia Dunbar’s vivid account of the somber, determined leader who united the United Mine Workers of America. Witness how Mitchell’s quiet strength and sense of responsibility molded a pivotal chapter in American labor history. Read the full story.
In a vivid 1871 illustration, striking workers and families jeer non-union miners walking through the crowded streets of Mahanoy City. Explore the early days of labor organization in Pennsylvania’s anthracite region and the conflicts that shaped coal country’s future. Read the full story.
In the turbulent year of 1864, Gilliard Dock, a mine superintendent in rural Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, expressed deep discomfort with his surroundings and growing fear of the Irish mineworkers he encountered. Dock’s journal entries reveal the tensions between mine management and labor, which were fueled by anti-Irish sentiment and fears of violence. His unease reflected broader concerns over labor unrest in the anthracite coal fields during the Civil War, where violence against management became increasingly common. Explore Dock's personal reflections and the often violent labor environment of the Coal Region during the Civil War. Read the full story.
The grave of Schuylkill County labor leader John Siney in St. Clair became a place of reflection for labor leaders in the decades following the Irish immigrant's death in 1880. This article explores how Coal Region labor leader Terence Powderly visited and reflected on leadership and the workingman at Siney's graveside.