On May 1, 1916, miners in the Coal Region earned the 8 hour workday, successfully ending decades of advocacy and protest.
May Day 1916 – When anthracite mineworkers earned the 8 hour workday
Coal Region Books: Theodore Roosevelt’s leadership during the 1902 Coal Strike
Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Leadership in Turbulent Times" looks at Theodore Roosevelt and the 1902 coal strike.
A tribute to a Coal Region labor leader – John Siney
John Siney led the Workingmen's Benevolent Association in actions against coal operators in the 1860s and 1870s.
“Children of the mine” – The Coal Region’s breaker boys at work
"Children of the mine are they, born in the shadow of the culm heaps with the roar of the breakers ever in their ears, with mines beneath their feet."
A Coal Region editorial from 1900 speaks to income inequality a century later
A writer at the Lykens Register opined in September 1900 about rising inequality in the Coal Region.
“A Copperhead outrage” – An attack on a pro-Union newspaper in Schuylkill County during the Civil War
In June 1864, the offices of the Anthracite Journal in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania were ransacked by an angry mob.
A New York Times correspondent’s 1874 visit to Wiconisco Township
A dispatch to the New York Times from August 1874 details life and work in the thriving Dauphin County mining community.
“Stick to the Union” – Factory girls supported union miners during Coal Strike of 1902
Coal miners across Pennsylvania went on strike in 1902. They couldn't have succeeded without the ladies.
“This community sustains a great loss” – A fatal mine disaster in Wiconisco Township during the Civil War
On February 7, 1862, a roof collapsed inside the Short Mountain Colliery killing a respected miner and wounding several others.
“Revolutionary Disloyalty” – A coal miners’ rebellion in Schuylkill County during the Civil War
In October 1862, Irish miners in Pennsylvania staged an armed revolt against the government. Their actions foreshadowed even bloodier events.
