The Augemented Reality Experience is designed to deliver additional hidden context to the photographs.
The Falls Bridge is an early and ambitious implementation of the "false skew" method of stone arch construction, first used on an American railroad by the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad in 1848.
The village of Fricks Lock was abandoned during the construction of the Limerick Power Plant.
The Betzwood Film Studios utilized a converted brewery as Daylight And Dark Studios. The former village of Port Kennedy was also used to create early Western films.
Monce Jones, an early Swede settler, created a small community on the river near current day Douglassville
The Schuylkill River has countless tributaries winding as it makes its way the 135 miles from near Pottsville to Philadelphia.
Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge was owned by Isaac Potts. The Potts family operated in many indusries along the Schuylkill River
Among other things, the Schuylkill River was heavily used to transport goods from the coal and iron producing areas all the way into Philadelphia.
The Schuylkill River and its heavily wooded surroundings played an important role in the Underground Railroad, including Fitzwater Station in Mont Clare.
Reading developed because of its proximity to natural resources like coal and iron as well as an easy form of transportation. As river and canal use slowed, the railroad industry florished.
For better or worse, the Schuylkill River played an important roll in the Industrial Revolution in Eastern Pennsylvania. Building towns and producing goods to be delivered to the rest of the country.
Royersford draws its name from the ford across the Schuylkill River. This proximity to the river made it a great place to manufacture a wide range of products from glass bottles, hosiery and shirts to bricks and gas meters.
Incorporated in 1849, Phoenixville has a rich history of industry and commerce — much of which related to its namesake the Phoenix Iron Works.
Pottstown was once home to East Coast Steel, which had a significant role in the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge with nearly half of the steel used being produced in Pottstown
Famed outlaw the 'Sundance Kid' was born in Mont Clare, living just along the canal.
The Black Rock Tunnel is one of the oldest railroad tunnels still in active use in the United States. It is the first tunnel to use vertical construction shafts.
Conrad Beidler established his means of production with a mill on Allegheny Creek built in 1766. The Allegheny Aqueduct was constructed in 1824 to provide a “bridge for boats” over Allegheny Creek.
A portion of the canal with a lock remains on the Laurel Locks Farm. In 1831 there were the beginnings of a canal village, known as Pottstown Landing, which took shape along Laurelwood Road at the Schuylkill River, carving lots from the Reiff and Wanger farms. This village is on the National Register of Historic Districts. It is the only village along the canal that owes its development to the canal industry.
Click or tap video to start playing.
Spring City was referred to as pump town because of the public water pump and the rich springs in the area. Spring City Electric Manufacturing, originally an iron stove company, produces light posts that can be found in major cities and parks including Central Park.
Birdsboro's iron and steel manufacturing produced armaments for every US conflict from the Revolution to the Vietnam War.
East Pikeland was home to the Continental Powder Company, the only powder mill commissioned by the continental army during the Revolution.
Not far from St. Paul Mission Church Cemetery is Hopewell Furnace. Hopewell was built by Mark Bird, the son of William Bird who founded Birdsboro, and produced pig iron used for the manufacture of stoves and other cast products.
Lakewood Park hosted picnics, often by ethnicity with Lithuanian being by far the largest. The large number of Lithuanian immigrants working in the coal region led to the national Lithuanian convention being hosted in Schuylkill County.
Sanner Store Bakery, built in 1881, is one of the few surviving examples of a town scale, single purpose, free standing bakery.
The Mammoth vein, the largest known anthracite coal vein, made Shenandoah a vital part of the coal industry. In the late 19th century, the population boomed with European immigrants. By the 1930s, 22 nationalities were represented each with their own church or synagogue.
Coal mining remains an important part the Lehigh and Schuylkill areas. The Molly Maguires were a secret society of Irish-American coal miners, known for their fight for better working conditions, wages, and rights.
This covered bridge across Manatawny Creek in Oley is one of only five remaining covered wooden bridges in Berks County.