Workmen on the Wiconisco Canal assaulted poll workers in Halifax, threw out votes, and started their own election.
“A reign of terror” – A violent 1838 election riot provoked outrage in central Pennsylvania
A young sailor from the Coal Region describes his first combat in the Spanish-American War
Clarence Holland was 16 when he first experienced battle during the bombardment of San Juan in May 1898.
“Big Lick” – Photographs from the 1860s show a Pennsylvania coal mine with an odd name
The images reveal pictures of industry growing on the side of Big Lick Mountain in Upper Dauphin County after the Civil War.
The dramatic aftermath of the Lincoln assassination in Schuylkill County
In Pennsylvania's anthracite coal field, reactions to the dramatic events of April 1865 were shockingly mixed.
“This seems like madness” – An editorial from the aftermath of the 1860 election hits close to home
"We are quarreling with our own prosperity, and about to fly from imaginary evils to greater evils, the extent of which cannot be imagined."
“Nothing to really compare with this” – A reflection on the 1918 influenza epidemic in Wilkes-Barre
"Three hundred miles of funeral processions, and the tears and groans that accompany these sad partings."
After the First World War, miners in Williams Valley faced an uncertain future
A newspaper correspondent details life in Lykens and Wiconisco in the months after the end of the Great War.
“This life is agreeing with me” – A Pennsylvania soldier trains for war in 1918
Private Edward Ditty trained for war with the 23rd Engineers and sought success as a boxer in the ranks.
Lykens Red Cross chapter knitted, baked, and volunteered to help local soldiers overseas in 1918
Women from the Coal Region volunteered to provide assistance to troops during the First World War.
Williamstown sailor recounts surviving a German U-boat attack, two weeks in a lifeboat in 1943
Jim Shurskis told the dramatic story of surviving his ship's sinking to students from Williamstown High School.