NEPA's Industrial Revolution Legacy
Discover Northeast Pennsylvania's Industrial Legacy Through Steamtown and Historic Coal Mine Tours
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Northeast Pennsylvania's coal mines and railroad yards powered the American Industrial Revolution — and now they anchor a new tourism trail launched for the nation's 250th birthday. Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton draws roughly 60,243 visitors a year, according to National Park Service, while the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour sends guests 300 feet underground into shafts dug as far back as 1860.
The America250 History Trail links these two landmarks into a single circuit, timed to the 2026 Semiquincentennial. Pennsylvania's tourism industry already generates nearly $84 billion a year, according to Governor Josh Shapiro's office, and NEPA organizers are betting the trail can pull a significant share of that spending inland from Philadelphia.
Steamtown's Big Locomotives and Bigger Maintenance Bill
Steamtown NHS sits on a 62-acre historic rail yard in downtown Scranton. The site holds 40 locomotives and more than 100 pieces of railroad equipment, including the colossal Big Boy 4012 — one of the largest steam locomotives ever built. A working roundhouse lets visitors watch restoration up close. The collection moved from Bellows Falls, Vermont, in 1984 and became a full national historic site by 1995, according to Citizens Voice.
Behind the celebrations sits a serious problem. Steamtown carries a $102 million deferred maintenance backlog, according to an NPS factsheet. America250 organizers hope the national spotlight will push Congress to act. Robert F. Durkin, president of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, has called Steamtown the "centerpiece of the area mix of cultural and historical amenities."
Going 300 Feet Down Into the Old Continental Mine
The Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour offers something few museums can: a real descent. Visitors ride a mine car 300 feet underground into the Continental Mine, which closed in 1966 after more than a century of anthracite production. The site reopened as a public tour in 1985, after $2.5 million in federal restoration funding, according to Republican Herald.
Former state Rep. Ed Staback, who also served as a Lackawanna County Commissioner, described the experience as "illuminating" — a glimpse into the daily underground world of miners. Most of those miners were immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe who fueled the nation's railroads and Navy with anthracite, which burns hotter and cleaner than softer coals.
America250PA Ties the Sites Into One Heritage Circuit
The Pennsylvania Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial — America250PA — was created in 2018 to plan statewide events across all 67 counties. Executive Director Cassandra Coleman, a former mayor of Exeter, leads the "EPIC" initiative: Educate, Preserve, Innovate, Celebrate. The commission has already awarded $510,000 in a second round of Semiquincentennial grants, according to The Times-Tribune.
Local organizer Thom Greco has pushed hard to frame NEPA's contribution around labor, not just liberty. His argument: the nation's independence was sustained by the coal and rail workers of the interior, not only by the founders in Philadelphia. GPS-enabled digital guides for the trail aim to keep that story alive for younger visitors well past 2026.
Not Everyone Is Celebrating Without Questions
The America250 trail has drawn praise, but also scrutiny. Emma Hart, an early American history professor at the University of Pennsylvania, warned that large anniversary events risk taking a "simplistic approach" to history — favoring "patriotic branding" over complex truths, according to Billy Penn. Meanwhile, some states have pulled back from certain federal "Freedom250" events, citing partisan concerns.
Local historical societies offer a different emphasis. Rather than spotlighting founding fathers, groups like the Lackawanna Historical Society center the story on immigrant workers — the "resilient men and women" who dug the coal and laid the rails. That framing aligns closely with what visitors actually see 300 feet underground at McDade Park.
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