"We are like soldiers in the front of the battle." Weeks before the Avondale disaster killed 110 men and changed Coal Region history, a Boston reporter sat down on a log with two Welsh miners in Summit Hill, PA and asked them what their lives were actually like. They didn't hold back. Read the full story.
A crowd gathers as voices rise. A mineworker is pulled away in handcuffs by armed law enforcement as anger spills into the street. This 1875 illustration captures a Coal Region on edge in the aftermath of a crushing strike, where labor, law, and violence collided in the streets. Read the Full Story.
In the winter of 1875, the Long Strike pushed Coal Region families to the breaking point. Harper’s Weekly captured the moment in a stark illustration titled “The Last Loaf,” showing women and children gathered around a small outdoor oven, baking the only bread they had left while a silent breaker loomed behind them. It’s a raw look at how desperate life became as wages collapsed and the Workingmen’s Benevolent Association fought its final, losing battle. Read the full story.
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 a vivid 1871 illustration, striking workers and families jeer non-union miners walking through the crowded streets of Mahanoy City. Explore the early days of labor organization in Pennsylvania’s anthracite region and the conflicts that shaped coal country’s future. Read the full story.
In the aftermath of the tragic Avondale Mine Disaster of 1869, which claimed 110 lives, former Congressman Hendrick B. Wright penned a passionate essay in support of mineworkers facing dangerous conditions. Wright’s words reflected the growing public outcry after Avondale, an event that marked a pivotal moment in the labor movement of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Discover how this disaster fueled early efforts toward labor reform and unionization in the Coal Region. Read the full story.
The grave of Schuylkill County labor leader John Siney in St. Clair became a place of reflection for labor leaders in the decades following the Irish immigrant's death in 1880. This article explores how Coal Region labor leader Terence Powderly visited and reflected on leadership and the workingman at Siney's graveside.
John Siney led one of the first successful unions in America, which briefly united mineworkers in the 1870s.
The Avondale Mine Disaster of September 6, 1869 killed 108 miners and 2 volunteer rescuers.
John Siney led the Workingmen's Benevolent Association in actions against coal operators in the 1860s and 1870s.