“Not very desirable immigrants” | A nativist editorial from Pennsylvania’s Coal Region in the 1880s

“We still have plenty of room for those who come to us, provided they are the right kind of people.” That line appeared in a Pottsville newspaper in 1888 as thousands of immigrants from Italy and Eastern Europe continued arriving in America’s industrial communities. The editorial captures the language of nativism and anti-immigrant sentiment at the moment the Coal Region itself was being reshaped by newcomers. Read the Full Story.

From Northern Ireland to Pennsylvania’s Coal Region | 1845

In December 1845, as famine loomed in Ireland, a Pottsville newspaper advertised ship passages from Londonderry to Philadelphia. It’s a small notice that reveals how Irish migration began to reshape the Coal Region - and how welcome later turned to backlash. This story traces that turning point. Read the full story.