In the late 1930s, Jack Delano photographed the silent ruins of the Shenandoah City Colliery, a once-massive operation left to decay as the Great Depression and industrial change gutted the anthracite industry. This is what collapse looked like in real time across Schuylkill County. Read the Full Story.
In 1965, photographer Jack Delano looked back on the many months he spent living in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region during the Great Depression, documenting abandoned mines, bootleggers, and families hanging on by a thread. His words add new depth to the images many of us know so well. Read the Full Story.
In 1910, artist Joseph Pennell sketched a dark, foreboding view of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, capturing the stark industrial landscape dominated by coal breakers and immigrant communities. His illustration, now in the Library of Congress, reflects the hidden world of America’s coal towns, largely unseen by the broader public. Read the full story.
A newly digitized Library of Congress portrait brings Captain Jacob Haas of Company G, 96th Pennsylvania into stunning focus. Taken by Pottsville photographer A.M. Allen, this Civil War image captures the resolve of a Coal Region officer. Discover Haas’s story and his regiment’s legacy in our latest post. Read the full story.
This rare etching by John Rubens Smith offers a glimpse of Pottsville before it exploded into an industrial hub. Discover how the Schuylkill Canal, emerging railroads, and booming anthracite mines transformed this once-quiet valley into a pivotal Coal Region center. Read the full story.
Explore the Port Carbon Iron Works as depicted in an 1864 illustration from Schuylkill County. Discover this Civil War-era industrial site, owned by T.H. Wintersteen. Read the full story.
Sheldon Dick photographed damaged homes in Gilberton, Schuylkill County in 1938.
Photographer Sheldon Dick made a visit to the Coal Region in 1938 to document scenes of life and work in the mining towns of northern Schuylkill County. On an evening during his visit, Dick made a swing by a bar room in Gilberton, Pennsylvania and snapped three photographs that bring the setting to life. The … Continue reading Scenes in a Coal Region bar room – 1938