In 1837, residents of three Pennsylvania counties filed petitions seeking to form their own county called "Lykens." Their efforts were unsuccessful.
Petitions for a new Pennsylvania county called “Lykens” in 1837
Henry Keiser’s ‘reminisicences’ of Lykens and Wiconisco before the Civil War
In May 1927, Henry Keiser described the Coal Region towns where he grew up as they looked in the 1850s.
“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.
A Pennsylvania coal town expressed astonishment that it celebrated July 4th without violence in 1862
Wiconisco Township marked Independence Day 1862 with surprisingly peaceful demonstration.
“A Proposed New County” – Northern Dauphin County’s Long History of Separatism
During the 19th Century, Northern Dauphin County was "disposed to secede" and form a new county with Lykens, Pennsylvania as the county seat.
Simon Cameron and the coal mines of Williams Valley – 1862
The disgraced Secretary of War often invested in industrial ventures in Pennsylvania.
