Around the turn of the 20th century, about 2,000 people lived in Mahanoy Plane, in the shadow of the inclined railroad that hauled coal up Broad Mountain toward Frackville. Breakers, engine houses, and repair shops lined the tracks. What began as a railroad outpost became a bustling Coal Region village. Read the Full Story.
Around 1905, this photograph captured miners deep beneath Scranton preparing to send a car of anthracite coal up a shaft that may have stretched 1,500 feet to the surface. Read the Full Story.
Two thousand miners filled the streets of Mahanoy City in September 1900, marching together in one of the largest labor actions the Coal Region had ever seen. Their strike would ripple far beyond that moment, helping set the stage for the dramatic gains won just two years later. Read the Full Story.
In the late 1930s, Jack Delano photographed the silent ruins of the Shenandoah City Colliery, a once-massive operation left to decay as the Great Depression and industrial change gutted the anthracite industry. This is what collapse looked like in real time across Schuylkill County. Read the Full Story.
In 1965, photographer Jack Delano looked back on the many months he spent living in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region during the Great Depression, documenting abandoned mines, bootleggers, and families hanging on by a thread. His words add new depth to the images many of us know so well. Read the Full Story.
This 1860s photograph captures mining operations at Bear Gap, where men, mules, and machines pulled anthracite from deep underground. It’ offers a look at how coal shaped daily life in Wiconisco Township during the Civil War era. Read the full story.
In June 1979, cars lined up for blocks at gas stations near Pottsville, PA as fuel shortages spread across the nation. Drivers waited for their assigned day under the odd-even rationing system. This photograph captures the frustration and uncertainty of the 1970s energy crisis. Read the Full Story.
Taken in the late 1860s or early 1870s, this rare photograph looks across Pottsville at a city in transition—before its skyline fully took shape. From Coal Street, familiar landmarks reveal how power, industry, and ambition shaped the town we know today. Read the full story.
A single photograph from the 1920s captures a mine rescue team standing at the mouth of Big Lick Tunnel – and, just behind them, the old “plane” that once hauled coal cars up Big Lick Mountain toward the Williamstown breaker. Today, only ruins remain on the hillside, but this image offers a sharp glimpse back at the days when the colliery dominated Williams Valley. Read the full story.
In 1911, activist Lewis Hine found 13-year-old Willie Brieden working as a nipper 500 feet underground in Pittston, PA - alone in the dark, opening heavy doors as gas hissed nearby. Days later, Willie was home sick, coughing from endless hours in the damp mine. A childhood bent to anthracite's demands, captured in one image. Read the full story.