For Vince Hydro, love of local history has been in his blood all his life.

“It seems like I have always been interested in local history. When I was in eighth grade, I would bike from Nesquehoning down to the Dimmick Memorial Library to read about local history in the books the library had.”

Hydro shared some of that history at the Nesquehoning Historical Society on Saturday with a presentation “A Survey of Moore’s Ravine: Glen Onoko.”

Glen Onoko was first referred to as Moore’s Ravine or Glen back in the mid to late 1800s. In 1872, the Carbon Democrat ran an article in which it was the first time it was referred to as Glen Onoko.

In the late 1800s, Glen Onoko became a serious tourist attraction.

The Lehigh Valley Railroad built rail lines to Glen Onoko. On Oct. 18, 1883, a record number of 4,500 tourists from New York and Philadelphia visited the Glen to view the fall foliage.

Hydro shared many of the photos in his collection along with maps and other historical documents.

The famed Wahnetah Hotel was also built in 1886, first called the Onoko Tavern, but it suffered from financial troubles right from the start.

It opened on Decoration Day, 1886 (now known as Memorial Day), was in financial trouble by November and was in receivership by December of that year.

It managed to stay in business until a fire destroyed it in 1911.

Hydro’s first publication was an article in the Times News on Nov. 27, 1971, on the Switchback Railroad. Later, he began writing for the Lansford’s Valley Gazette, and in 1991 he began writing papers for the Canal History and Technology Symposium, which was held annually at Lafayette College.

He has also published several books.

In 2002, Easton’s Canal History and Technology Press published his first book, “The Mauch Chunk Switchback: America’s Pioneer Railroad.”

In 2019 he started his own publishing company and produced three books: “History of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company’s Room Run Railroad,” “Asa Packer’s People, The Story of the Packer Children: Lucy, Mary, Robert and Harry-Their Lives and Legacies,” and “The Summit Hill and Mauch Chunk Switchback Railroad: America’s First Roller Coaster.”

Hydro has a new book due out this fall on the early history of mining and railroading in the Panther Valley.

“Honestly I just hope they enjoyed it,” Hydro explained.

“I don’t really have an objective in doing these presentations, and writing books, I just enjoy sharing what I have learned. I know people enjoy seeing photos and reading about local history, and I enjoy sharing it. If they come away with an understanding of some history, Visit Vince Hydro Publications on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vincehydropublications.

For the presentations, visit the Nesquehoning Historical Society’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NesquehoningHistoricalSociety.