Schuylkill County is located in east central Pennsylvania in the rich southern fields of anthracite coal. The era when "coal was king" has long since passed, but the story of the development of the anthracite coal industry that fueled the Industrial Revolution in the U.S. has not been lost. The vivid details and nuances of local community life from the 1850s to the 1920s are brought to light in this wonderful collection. When Broad Mountain was conquered by the railroads and the Mahanoy plane was built, coal could be brought up over the mountain to reach its markets. The transportation that was necessary to get the coal to the rapidly developing markets in Philadelphia, New York, and New England caused the development of the towns in northern Schuylkill County such as Shenandoah, Mahanoy City, and Ashland during the 1850s–1860s.
Historians Leo L. Ward and Mark T. Major have mined the photographs in the deep archives of the Historical Society of Schuylkill County to bring us this important photographic history. A meander through these pages can mean recollection and reminiscence for older people and revelation for the young.