A photograph by Isaac Kunkel shows the mining community of Lykens, Pennsylvania in the years after the Civil War. The image is among the earliest taken of this northern Dauphin County community. Read the full story.
A Glimpse of 1900s Lykens, PA This historic photo captures horse-drawn wagons and early automobiles sharing bustling Market Street. Towering coal culm banks loom in the distance, reflecting an era of booming industry on the edge of Pennsylvania’s Coal Region. Read the full story.
Step back to 1870s Millersburg, PA with a rare photograph of the Summit Branch Hotel and railroad depot at the junction of the Northern Central and Lykens Valley lines. Read the full story.
In 1854, a festive cannon salute in Lykens, Pennsylvania turned tragic on the Fourth of July. One man was killed, another lost an arm, highlighting the hazards of 19th-century holiday revelry. Read the full story.
Discover a rare photograph capturing locomotive “George P. Upton” hauling anthracite along the Lykens Valley Railroad. Explore Bear Gap’s bustling mines, the route to Millersburg, and how Lykens Valley coal powered East Coast cities. Read the full story.
On April 9, 1865, Sergeant Henry Keiser of Wiconisco Township, PA, recorded in his diary the moment he and his fellow soldiers learned of General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, marking the end of their service in the Civil War. After surviving brutal battles from Gettysburg to Cedar Creek, Keiser returned home to Pennsylvania, where he lived until 1933, remembered as a dedicated soldier and community member. Read the full story.
Newspaper headlines across Northeastern Pennsylvania carried news of war and destruction in Hawaii in December 1941. Read the full story and the headlines.
In October and November 1864, Pennsylvania soldiers, including Sergeant Henry Keiser of Lykens, cast their votes for president from their army camps near the front lines. This pivotal moment in the Civil War helped secure Abraham Lincoln’s re-election, ensuring his policies of emancipation and Union victory would continue. Explore this firsthand account of wartime voting - the first "absentee" voting in Pennsylvania history. Read the full story.
On a fall evening in 1864, the streets of Lykens, Pennsylvania came alive with a torchlight parade in support of President Abraham Lincoln. As the Civil War neared its end, local residents rallied behind Lincoln's re-election, marching in solidarity through their mining town. This procession symbolized the region's deep commitment to the Union cause and Lincoln's leadership during one of the nation's most turbulent periods. Discover the historical significance of this event and its place in the broader context of the 1864 election. Read the full story.
Uncover rare photographs of a schoolyard turned into a makeshift hospital during the devastating 1918 flu pandemic in Lykens, Pennsylvania. With hundreds falling ill daily, US Army medical teams were called in. Dive into this horrific chapter of American history and see these remarkable images from the pivotal moment.