An account from the 1977 Porter Tunnel Disaster offers a chilling first-person perspective on a deadly wall of water rushing through a Pennsylvania mine. Discover how these miners fought for survival and faced unimaginable terror deep underground. Read the full story.
Discover the story behind a poignant 1977 photograph capturing an exhausted miner during rescue efforts at the Porter Tunnel disaster near Tower City. An unforgettable chapter Schuylkill County history. Read the full story.
In 1964, the West Schuylkill Herald featured Mrs. Mione’s classic Italian lasagna recipe, a staple at her family’s table in Tower City, PA. Decades later, Mione’s Pizza remains a beloved local institution, still serving up flavors rooted in tradition. Read the full story and recipe.
Francis Reilly, 25, died after being struck in the head while working in the Bear Valley Shaft at the Williamstown Colliery in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in 1889. 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.
An aerial survey of Pennsylvania by airplane in 1938 shows us the mining operation just a few years before it closed forever.
The first funerals following the East Brookside Disaster in 1913 marked a beginning of mourning rituals following Schuylkill County's deadliest mine disaster.
Three mineworkers were killed in their makeshift coal mine when the roof caved in during a 1934 mine accident.
Tower City was criticized as its volunteer air raid spotter tower was left unattended at key moments in the summer of 1942.
Henry Leander Kramer served in the US Army during World War I and returned home to work as a coal miner in his hometown after the war.