This aerial view of Wiconisco, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, appeared in a 21 April 1926 article on Wiconisco in the Harrisburg Evening News. The photo was taken by Fairchild Aerial Survey Inc. as is noted in the lower left corner. Presumably, it was taken around 1926. Since the copy available for this blog post is a poor digital version of the Evening News from Newspapers.com, a clearer version must be available somewhere – and perhaps can be reproduced to replace this picture.
It appears that the picture was taken from the west looking east. The town of Wiconisco appears in the upper left corner of the photo and the Summit Branch Railroad appears in the upper right quadrant, running at about a 30 degree angle to the vertical streets.
The article accompanying the photograph told some of the history of the town, noted some of the industrial activities, and described the government and some of the fraternal organizations. It concluded with the following information about the transportation facilities:
Improved highways, including one of the most important state highway routes, a railroad and motor bus lines comprise the transportation facilities of the community. The Summit Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, extending from Millersburg to Williamstown, has large yards there because of the anthracite mines.
One of the principal passenger stations of the branch line is situated here. When the street car line of the Williams Valley Transportation Company was discontinued several years ago motor buses were substituted for the former electric cars. These enclosed freight and passenger trucks are operated at frequent intervals between the communities in Williams and Lykens Valleys.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.
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The Harrisburg Evening News contracted exclusively with Fairchild to produce aerial photographs of towns in their news coverage area. The Wiconisco photo was No. 9 in a series. The only communities photographed in the the Lykens Valley area were: Elizabethville, Millersburg, Lykens, Williamstown, Wiconisco, and Halifax.