“The years 1857–58 were desperate in the coal fields.” On a hill above a patch town in Schuylkill County, families gathered to hear the news of a nation coming apart. One man read aloud from a newspaper while others listened, argued, and tried to make sense of a distant crisis that was moving closer each day. Read the Full Story.
“There is but one feeling expressed, and that is, the government must be sustained.” That line appeared in a letter written from Eckley, Pennsylvania just days after the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861. In the Coal Region, the news sparked a surge of patriotism as young men began volunteering for the US Army. Read the Full Story and Letter.
Two striking images reveal the anthracite industry’s decline in Lorraine, near St. Clair, Pennsylvania. By 1938, the once-thriving patch town had nearly vanished, leaving only two homes standing. Discover what happened to this lost community, echoing the fate of many others in the Coal Region. Read the full 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.
Discover the lost patch town of Mackeysburg in Schuylkill County’s Civil War era. Once a hub of anti-war resistance and labor action, learn how this forgotten village shaped local history. An intriguing look at 19th-century image showing Coal Region life. Read the full story.
On Thanksgiving night in 1868, a bar-room altercation in the mining village of West Delaware Mines, Pennsylvania, turned deadly. After an argument over a drink, Edward Pursel fatally shot Civil War veteran John Duffy. This tragic event led to Pursel’s trial and conviction for murder. Read the full story.
Explore the grim reality of life in 1888 Coal Region patch towns in this Harper’s Weekly feature. From squalid homes and grueling labor to poverty and hazards in Pennsylvania’s anthracite villages, uncover the struggles endured by immigrant miners and their families amid coal dust, mine disasters, and limited opportunities. Read the Full Story.
In December 1871, a devastating fire nearly claimed lives at the Kalmia Colliery in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Flames swept through the breaker, trapping miners and sparking rumors of arson by the Molly Maguires in this turbulent era of coal industry violence in Pennsylvania history. Read the Full Story.
Discover the traditions of a Christmas in a 19th-century Schuylkill County patch town, where miners’ families in Kalmia, gathered around a simple Christmas tree in their schoolhouse. Through firsthand accounts, explore how Coal Region communities celebrated amidst coal dust and hard labor. Read the Full Story.