Upcoming Programs and Events

Join Jake Wynn – Public Historian for a engaging programs, presentations, and special events exploring the rich history of Pennsylvania’s Coal Region, the Civil War, America’s industrial past, and more.

From on-site history talks and virtual lectures to walking tours and guest appearances, Jake brings forgotten stories to light, offering insightful, well-researched narratives that connect past and present.

Check back often for updates on speaking engagements, historical site tours, live Q&A sessions, and podcast episodes featuring Jake Wynn. Want to book a program for your museum, historical society, library, or organization? Get in touch today!

Upcoming Events and Programs with Jake Wynn

POSTPONED – America 250: Revolutionary Disloyalty – A Mineworkers’ Rebellion in Schuylkill County in 1862

POSTPONED: New Date TBD

In October 1862, hundreds of Irish mineworkers in Schuylkill County did something extraordinary – and dangerous. They took up arms against the government.

In this presentation, public historian Jake Wynn explores a largely forgotten uprising in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region when draft resistance, racial grievance, labor unrest, and partisan politics collided in the middle of the Civil War.

Centered in Cass Township and the mining villages northwest of Minersville, the rebellion saw armed mineworkers halt coal production, stop trains carrying drafted men, and challenge state and federal authority at a moment when the Union war effort hung in the balance.

Drawing from contemporary newspapers, political correspondence, and the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Wynn places the 1862 revolt within the broader story of Northern dissent, Copperhead politics, and the turbulent rise of the Molly Maguires.

This is a story of class tension and ethnic identity, of rumor and resistance, and of Coal Region communities pushed to the brink.