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.
In September 1864, Schuylkill County’s Jacob Shade was killed at the Battle of Peebles Farm during the Siege of Petersburg. A 30-year-old laborer turned soldier, Shade left behind a widow and children—one of hundreds from the Coal Region who gave their lives for the Union during the Civil War. Read the full story.
Step back to September 1900, when Mother Jones took the podium in Shenandoah, PA to ignite a fledgling anthracite strike. This rare image from the Philadelphia Inquirer shows Mary Harris “Mother” Jones rallying miners for the United Mine Workers of America cause - an important moment in Coal Region labor history. Read the full story.
On the blood-soaked fields of Antietam, a captain from Scranton, PA wrote home of the horrors of a Civil War battlefield and the fall of the regiment’s colonel. Bullets tore through bodies, faces masked in smoke and dust, boys became veterans in minutes. This firsthand letter from the 132nd Pennsylvania brings the battle almost unbearably close, in raw detail. Read the full story.
At just 18, Private James Kaercher left Pennsylvania’s Coal Region to fight for the Union at the Battle of South Mountain. A Confederate bullet cut short his service, leading to a five-month struggle before his passing. Read his story.
In 1869, the Avondale Mine Disaster claimed 110 lives, leaving grieving families to bury loved ones in a solemn mass funeral. This tragedy rocked Pennsylvania’s Coal Region, sparking outrage over safety failures and pushing for long-overdue reforms. Read the full story.
In September 1900, Mary Harris “Mother” Jones rallied women in McAdoo, Pennsylvania, to join a march supporting striking miners. Her stirring speech and fearless leadership convinced workers at nearby patch towns to lay down their tools in solidarity. Read the full story.
In the turbulent year of 1864, Gilliard Dock, a mine superintendent in rural Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, expressed deep discomfort with his surroundings and growing fear of the Irish mineworkers he encountered. Dock’s journal entries reveal the tensions between mine management and labor, which were fueled by anti-Irish sentiment and fears of violence. His unease reflected broader concerns over labor unrest in the anthracite coal fields during the Civil War, where violence against management became increasingly common. Explore Dock's personal reflections and the often violent labor environment of the Coal Region during the Civil War. Read the full story.
Step back into the tense streets of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, during the 1900 Coal Strike with this gripping illustration from the Philadelphia Inquirer. Violent clashes erupted between striking mineworkers, non-union laborers, and law enforcement, leaving one man dead and many wounded. Discover how this pivotal moment played out against the backdrop of one of the Coal Region's lesser-known but important historical events. Read the full story.
Newspaper editor Benjamin Bannan implored the US Army be used to put down labor organization in the Coal Region during the Civil War.