The Hard Coal Navy: Dredging the Susquehanna for Black Gold

For much of the 20th century, the Susquehanna River did something no river should ever have…

The Day the U.S. Army Went to War with the Susquehanna River

In March 1920, the Susquehanna stopped behaving like a river. For 83 days, it lay frozen…

Safe Harbor Coal Washing Plant: Turning Susquehanna Silt into Electricity

The Susquehanna River once powered industry in a way that sounds almost unbelievable today. At Holtwood…

Podcast: Susquehanna Ice Railroad of 1852

In this episode of the Uncharted Lancaster Podcast, we dive into the winter of 1852, an…

Cryptid: Legend of the Kettle Creek Monster

The Susquehanna River, one of the world's oldest waterways, has shaped not only Pennsylvania's history but…

On this Day in History: Wrightsville ‘Sea Lion’ Monster spotted in 1878

On April 28, 1878, something extraordinary emerged from the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville. Witnesses,…

Buried Treasure: Captain Kidd’s Lost Danville Treasure

🏴‍☠️🎶 Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. 🎵☠️ In 1884, amidst an economic…

Mystery on the River: Legend of the 1878 Wrightsville ‘Sea Lion’ Monster

In April 1878, something extraordinary emerged from the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville. Witnesses, including…

Susquehanna Ghostly Echoes at the Mason-Dixon Line

In the days leading up to the Civil War, the Pennsylvania border played a pivotal role…

Water Week: Canals of the Conewago Falls

As part of Lancaster Conservancy's annual Water Week celebration, I led a Northwest River Trail History…

River Monsters of the Susquehanna Deeps

Local legend holds that a diver at Safe Harbor went down behind the dam to remove…

On this Day in History: Winter so cold the railroad ran tracks across a frozen Susquehanna

On this Day in History. The winter of 1852 was so cold that it froze the…

Ancient Native American eel weirs slumber beneath the waters of the Susquehanna

Before the Egyptians built the Pyramids of Giza, Native Americans were constructing giant stone structures on…

Artifact: ‘Indian Relics of the Lower Susquehanna Valley Preserved for the Public’ brochure

I was recently made aware of this rare vintage brochure from the 1950s entitled "Indian Relics…

Armchair Explorer: LiDAR Scans of Little and Big Indian Rock

On a voyage out to the millennium-old petroglyphs of Little Indian Rock and Big Indian Rock…

The Lower Susquehanna before the dams

I have often wondered what the Lower Susquehanna looked like before the dams at Holtwood (1905)…

Ice on the Susquehanna

Ice on the Susquehanna is a femme fatale—mysteriously beautiful and potentially dangerous. More than once, this…

1852: Winter so cold the railroad ran tracks across a frozen Susquehanna

The winter of 1852 froze the Susquehanna at Havre De Grace solid. This presented a problem…

Enjoy this Safe Harbor Visitor’s Guide and Map from 1989

During a recent tour of Safe Harbor Dam, I picked up a copy of the company's…

Lock 12 Historic Area

Being a firm believer that "information wants to be free," when I came into possession of…