The Great Depression hit Pennsylvania’s Coal Region hard. Collieries shuttered, jobs vanished, and families scraped by with bootleg mining, relief drives, and New Deal work. In my latest RealClear Pennsylvania column, I trace the collapse from Black Tuesday to efforts in towns like Williamstown and Lykens to survive the depression—and what lingers today. 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.
Discover the dramatic story of teenage Henry Keiser, who hauled explosive powder through rugged terrain - and survived a life-threatening cattle stampede. Get a firsthand look at the dangers behind building this crucial rail line along the Susquehanna. 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.
Discover a rare photograph capturing locomotive “George P. Upton” hauling anthracite along the Lykens Valley Railroad. Explore Bear Gap’s bustling mines, the route to Millersburg, and how Lykens Valley coal powered East Coast cities. Read the full story.
Meet Henry Maurer, who grew up near Gratz< PA and fought in Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” At 99, he welcomed home grandsons from World War II, connecting nearly a century of American service. A moving slice of Coal Region history. Read the full story.
On April 9, 1865, Sergeant Henry Keiser of Wiconisco Township, PA, recorded in his diary the moment he and his fellow soldiers learned of General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, marking the end of their service in the Civil War. After surviving brutal battles from Gettysburg to Cedar Creek, Keiser returned home to Pennsylvania, where he lived until 1933, remembered as a dedicated soldier and community member. Read the full story.
On a fall evening in 1864, the streets of Lykens, Pennsylvania came alive with a torchlight parade in support of President Abraham Lincoln. As the Civil War neared its end, local residents rallied behind Lincoln's re-election, marching in solidarity through their mining town. This procession symbolized the region's deep commitment to the Union cause and Lincoln's leadership during one of the nation's most turbulent periods. Discover the historical significance of this event and its place in the broader context of the 1864 election. Read the full story.
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.