On Saturday, May 10, 1924, the Ku Klux Klan announced its presence in Williamstown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, by burning a cross on the culm bank west of the colliery.
The event was reported nearly a week later in the Lykens Standard, May 16, 1924:
K. K. K. ORGANIZATION AT WILLIAMSTOWN BURNED CROSS THERE
Williamstown, May 14 [1924] — Great excitement prevailed at this place Saturday evening between 10 and 11 o’clock when the K. K. K. organization set a flaming cross on the culm bank west of the colliery. Residents were in great excitement for a while and haste was made by many to reach the scene. There was no demonstration and none of the organization were seen. This evidently meant the founding of the Klan at this place.
This post is a continuation of the reporting on hate groups that were active in the Lykens Valley area. It was a widely known fact that the Ku Klux Klan had a significant presence in the Lykens Valley and adjacent valleys during the early years of the 20th Century. This iteration of the Klan was strongly white supremacist and was opposed to equal rights for African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants.
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News article from Newspapers.com.
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