When the Molly Maguire era ended in violent repression, hundreds of Irish miners fled PA's Coal Region — some traveling 1,700 miles west to Leadville, Colorado, and bringing their legal troubles with them. Dr. Jim Walsh of UC Denver joins the Transatlantic podcast and as part of their discussion, shares these fascinating connections. Listen to the episode.
In 1876, a chilling illustration labeled “A Warning” claimed to show a Molly Maguire “coffin notice” - a written death threat used to spread fear in the Coal Region. These images shaped public panic and were used to justify brutal crackdowns on Irish immigrants and their communities. Read the full story.
Alexander Campbell’s 1877 wake wasn’t the wild scene newspapers loved to imagine. A reporter found a quiet house, women keeping vigil, and men talking in low voices after the execution of 10 Molly Maguires. But his funeral the next day drew one of the biggest crowds the Coal Region had ever seen. Behind the legends, a far more human story comes into focus. Read the full story.
An anonymous 'Molly Maguire' boldly warned Shenandoah newspaper editor Tom Foster in 1875: with the union broken, robbed by the companies, "we intend it to cost them..." With "nothing to defind ourselves with But our Revolvers" they demanded "a fare Days wages for a fare Days work." Read the full story.
My 2025 reading list leans hard into the big, difficult stuff - atomic fire over Japan, mass graves in Rwanda and Bosnia, the Molly Maguires, Irish soldiers in blue, and one unforgettable novel about a single patch of New England ground. These are the books that shaped his thinking this year about memory, violence, grief, and how we tell stories. Read the full story.
Two days after ten alleged Molly Maguires were hanged in Pottsville and Mauch Chunk, a letter signed “Fiat Lux” appeared in the New York Sun—and it turned the headlines of the day on their head. Instead of cheering the executions as many contemporary newspapers did, the writer blamed the Reading Railroad, coal operators, and a rigged system that kept immigrant mineworkers in brutal poverty, arguing that not all the guilt lay with the men on the gallows. It’s a sharp, early indictment of corporate power in the Coal Region. Read the full story.
Folklorist George Korson roamed Pennsylvania’s Coal Region in the 1920s and 1930s, capturing stories born of mysterious knockings, spirits of miners killed in disasters, and minds disturbed after fatal accidents. From Avondale’s haunted chambers to a peddler’s wailing rock and the unrecovered dead of the Woodward Colliery - these tales reveal miners’ fears and folklore. Read the full story.
Fearing a last-minute jailbreak before six alleged “Molly Maguires” were hanged, armed police stood guard at the Schuylkill County Prison. Though no rescue came, this scene reveals the era’s intense labor strife and the looming power of the coal industry. Read the full story.
In June 1877, Schuylkill County Prison in Pottsville prepared for the largest mass execution in Pennsylvania history, hanging six men accused of being Molly Maguires. Controversial trials, largely based on Pinkerton detective James McParlan’s testimony, left lingering doubts about whether the executions were justice or a crackdown on Irish labor activism. Read the story.
Explore Eckley Miners’ Village in Luzerne County We stepped back in time at this preserved 1850s patch town - the filming site of "The Molly Maguires" – and learned more about patch towns in the Coal Region. Read the full story of our visit and how you can plan your own trip.