A dispatch to the New York Times from August 1874 details life and work in the thriving Dauphin County mining community.
“Summer Resort” – A New York Times correspondent’s 1874 visit to Wiconisco Township
“We want a vigorous prosecution of the war” – Chaplain calls for hard war against Confederacy in 1863
"I pronounce this rebellion wicked," thundered John Chandler Gregg in a speech given in Wiconisco, Pennsylvania.
“This community sustains a great loss” – A fatal mine disaster in Wiconisco Township during the Civil War
On February 7, 1862, a roof collapsed inside the Short Mountain Colliery killing a respected miner and wounding several others.
“A vivid flash of light” – An 1867 lightning strike electrocuted Wiconisco miners 1,000 feet below ground
In June 1867, a thunderstorm passed through Wiconisco, Pennsylvania and electrocuted miners deep within one of the town's coal mines.
“Overhauling is going on vigorously” – An 1860s photograph reveals work at coal breaker in Wiconisco
A photograph taken shortly after the Civil War shows mining operations in Wiconisco Township in Dauphin County in the 1860s.
“Strike among the coal miners”- Labor unrest in Wiconisco Township during the Civil War
In the spring of 1863, a series of strikes among miners stopped all work in the anthracite coal mines of Wiconisco Township.
“A frightful scene” – A Wiconisco boy’s narrow escape from death in a mine accident in 1859
A young boy faced death in the mines of the Lykens Valley Coal Company in March 1859. And against all odds, he came out victorious.
“In my late excursion” – A visit to Wiconisco in 1835
A traveler describes his visit to the small mining village of Wiconisco, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1835.
A coal town is born – Williamstown, Pennsylvania in 1864
As the Civil War raged, the village of Williamstown began growing on the slopes of Big Lick Mountain in upper Dauphin County.
