A Heritage of Health Disparities in the Anthracite Region of Pennsylvania.

Summary

In the late nineteenth century immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe came to the anthracite coal region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Many of the newcomers were underpaid, underfed, and lived in substandard housing. The coal industry thrived until the end of WWI and it is virtually non-existent today. The region’s memory of the coal industry focuses on the hard work and sacrifice of the newcomers, and how they survived and made a successful life for themselves and for their offspring. Northeastern Pennsylvania is now one of the fastest deindustrializing regions in the US. At the same time the descendants of the coal mining communities are suffering from severe health and well-being concerns – the result of their ancestor’s exploitation. Archaeology provides details about the historic health disparities and this work provides a long-term perspective about health and well-being in the region with the goal of challenging the region’s traditional heritage.  

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Making American Memory Great Again

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 121