Norman Gasbarro | March 4, 2011
One hundred fifty years ago, on his way from his home in Springfield, Illinois, to Washington, D.C. for his March 4th inauguration, President-elect Abraham Lincoln made a stop in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Then, as now, Harrisburg was both the county seat and the state capital. The plan was for Lincoln to remain in Harrisburg […]
Norman Gasbarro | February 12, 2011
Abraham Lincoln was born on 12 February 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. In years after his death, his birthday would be celebrated in many places in the United States, and in some places as an official holiday. Today, he is included in our “President’s Day” holiday. In 1861, no former president had been recognized with […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 31, 2010
In 1825, the first ferry was “poled” across the Susquehanna River at Millersburg. At the time of the Civil War barges were in operation, mainly to transport goods. The one mile journey across the Susquehanna River was not easy as the river provided a formidable barrier between Dauphin and Perry Counties, and other than the […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 8, 2010
During the Civil War, one railroad ran from the interior of the Lykens Valley area to the Susquehanna River. Believed to be completed in 1834, the line went from Millersburg to Lykens. Its primary use was to transport coal from the coal mines around Lykens to the Susquehanna River. Horses pulled the early coal cars […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 7, 2010
Not everyone supported the draft. One case that was noted in a Philadelphia Inquirer article on 25 October 1862 was a group of law resisters in the coal mining area of Schuylkill County referred to as “The Collieries.” Exactly where the group was located in Schuylkill County was not known, but they were allegedly responsible […]
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