An Archaeology of Structural Violence: Life in a Twentieth-Century Coal Town

255 Pages·2018·25.4 MB·English

by  Michael Roller

An Archaeology of Structural Violence
Cultural Heritage Studies
university Press of florida
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
New College of Florida, Sarasota
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola

An Archaeology of
Structural Violence
Life in a Twentieth-Century Coal Town
Michael P. Roller
Foreword by Paul A. Shackel
University Press of Florida
Gainesville · Tallahassee · Tampa · Boca Raton
Pensacola · Orlando · Miami · Jacksonville · Ft. Myers · Sarasota
Copyright 2018 by Michael P. Roller
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
This book may be available in an electronic edition.
23 22 21 20 19 18 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Roller, Michael P., author. | Shackel, Paul A., author of foreword.
Title: An archaeology of structural violence : life in a twentieth-century
coal town / Michael P. Roller ; foreword by Paul A. Shackel.
Other titles: Cultural heritage studies.
Description: Gainesville : University Press of Florida, 2018. | Series:
Cultural heritage studies | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018014115 | ISBN 9780813056081 (cloth : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Coal miners—Violence against—Pennsylvania. | Anthracite
coal industry—Pennsylvania. | Industrial archaeology—Pennsylvania.
Classification: LCC HD8039.M615 R65 2018 | DDC 303.608862233509748—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov_2018014115
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University
System of Florida, comprising Florida A&M University, Florida Atlantic University,
Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University,
New College of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University
of North Florida, University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611-2079
http://upress.ufl.edu
Dedicated to my parents, Peter and Akiko, whose amazing lives
as immigrants and thoughtfulness as individuals have inspired
my interests throughout

contents
List of Illustrations ix
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
1. An Archaeology of the Twentieth Century in the Anthracite Coal
Region of Northeast Pennsylvania 7
2. History of the Anthracite Region, 1830 to 1897 31
3. The Memory of Violence: The Lattimer Massacre of 1897 51
4. Migration, Part 1: The Social and Material Landscape of the
Company Town 77
5. The Archaeology of Machinic Mass Consumerism and the
Logistics of the Factory Floor in Everyday Life 105
6. Migration, Part 2: Emancipation and Catastrophe 136
7. The Destructive Character: Renewal and Memory 163
8. Conclusion 189

Notes 207
References 209
Index 231

illustrations
Map 1.1. The location of Hazleton and Lattimer 12
Map 4.1. Map from 1873 Beers Atlas with detail 82
Map 4.2. Company map from the 1920s 83
Map 4.3. Detail of 1885 map 88
Map 4.4. Detail from a company map dating to the second decade
of the twentieth century 89
Figure 1.1. Company double houses along Main Street in Lattimer
today 16
Figure 3.1. Bullets recovered from the site of the Lattimer
Massacre 72
Figure 3.2. Map showing bullets identified in the survey of the
Lattimer Massacre 73
Figure 3.3. Page from the New York Evening Journal 75
Figure 4.1. Architectural features 95
Figure 4.2. Structure floor plans 97
Figure 4.3. Remnants of the 1885 brick foundation and stone
wall 98
Figure 5.1. Program from a flag-raising exercise held in Lattimer
107
Figure 5.2. Dr. West’s Toothpaste cap and ad; Ben-Gay analgesic
balm tube cap and ad 127
Figure 5.3. Artifacts representing new decorative technologies 128
Figure 6.1. Development of access roads to Pardeesville 146
Figure 6.2. A letter from the Community of Pardeesville Water
Association 149