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.
A photograph by Isaac Kunkel shows the mining community of Lykens, Pennsylvania in the years after the Civil War. The image is among the earliest taken of this northern Dauphin County community. Read the full story.
In 1854, a festive cannon salute in Lykens, Pennsylvania turned tragic on the Fourth of July. One man was killed, another lost an arm, highlighting the hazards of 19th-century holiday revelry. Read the full story.
On the anniversary of Joseph Workman's death during the Civil War, I'm remembering the Wiconisco native who joined the 96th Pennsylvania in 1861. Wounded at South Mountain and captured at Spotsylvania, he succumbed to his wounds in Confederate-controlled Richmond. His weathered monument in Calvary United Methodist Cemetery is a reminder to remember the young man who died for his country. Read the full story.
Step into May 1864 through the eyes of Henry Keiser, a Pennsylvania corporal facing brutal combat during the Civil War. This short student documentary brings his vivid diary to life, revealing the raw realities of the Civil War in a way you won’t forget. Read the full story and watch the video.
Uncover rare photographs of a schoolyard turned into a makeshift hospital during the devastating 1918 flu pandemic in Lykens, Pennsylvania. With hundreds falling ill daily, US Army medical teams were called in. Dive into this horrific chapter of American history and see these remarkable images from the pivotal moment.
In 1933, mineworkers in Dauphin County fought to save their jobs as the Great Depression threatened to close the Short Mountain Colliery.
An 1860s photograph shows the inclined plane at Wiconsico that carried loaded coal cars down to the main line of the Lykens Valley Railroad.
Three mineworkers were killed in their makeshift coal mine when the roof caved in during a 1934 mine accident.
Corporal Nicholas Leshko visited Rome after being wounded in the fighting to take the city in 1944.