Pennsylvania's mining laws were strengthened following the September 6, 1986 mining disaster in Avondale, Luzerne County. But deadly accidents still occurred, including several in the anthracite mines of lower Northumberland County. Together, five disasters between 1873 and 1894 claimed thirty-eight lives.
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Settlers in the Susquehanna Valley were tasked with constructing their log homes after they found ground to raise a family. The time from first clearing to a cabin ready for a family depended on how much work was already done, how many hands showed up, and what kind of house the family planned to build.
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A customer might walk into a Middle Susquehanna Valley store for a pair of shoes or a few household necessities and leave with something extra—a small, colorful advertising card. Surviving cards offer glimpses of the goods they sold—and the imaginative ways they tried to catch a customer’s eye.
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Before railroads, packet boats and horseback riders delivered mail to communities in the Susquehanna Valley. A Columbia County doctor was a ten year old boy who was tasked with the important delivery of mail in several local communities.
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