The History of Wilkes-Barre Township
by Bernadine Elick
Going Back in Time
Do you know how the township came about? Do you know the early history what the early
settlers endured in their struggle to locate in our area and their many hardships when
they arrived here? I will try to cover some of the township’s past history in my
column each week as space allows. Many township residents have no idea on the origin of
the township so I will try to enlighten them.
The Early Beginning
The earliest evidence of man in Wilkes-Barre Twp. is approximately 12,000 B.C. With the
return of the glacial ice, man was prevented from staying in our area. After the ice had
retreated around 3500 B.C., man wandered up from the southern area of our country and
stayed in our area. The early Indians who habituated our region were ancestors of the
Iroquois Indians. The most important of the Iroquois groups living in Wyoming Valley in
the late 15th and 16th centuries were the Susquehannocks.
The Susquehannocks left our region about 1600 AD when they met overwhelming odds of the
Iroquois. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, The Iroquois Confederacy allowed
refugee Algonquian groups of Indians to settle in the valley, including the Shawnees,
Nanticokes and various Delaware groups. The Delawares, already depleted in population by
the white man’s diseases, founded the village of Wyoming (meaning large flats) above
the flats in the great bend area of south Wilkes-Barre near the end of present day Academy
Street.
In the summer of 1742, Count Zinzedorf, the famous Moravian Missionary, visited this
village and converted some of its inhabitants. The Delaware tribe began very early to take
on the ways of the white man, and many became Christians, however, they preferred to live
by themselves and fled the white man and the warlike Iroquois by moving and settling in
Indiana. Teedyescung, the famous Delaware chief, became the leader of Wyoming in 1756
until his murder in 1762. On the order of Governor Hamilton, Col. James Boyd came to
punish the Delawares, but they had already left the area and were the last Indians to
inhabit the Valley. New white settlers arrived and in 1769 erected Fort Durkee on the site
of the Delaware Village of Wyoming.
Two hundred and thirty years ago, Wilkes-Barre Township extended the area from the
Susquehanna River to the Lehigh River. The first permanent settlement began on February 8,
1769, by the Connecticut Yankees. The settlement was the cause of many conflicts involving
the governments of Pennsylvania, Connecticut, England and the Continental Congress. This
bloody conflict over land was known as the "Yankee-Pennamite Wars."
Wilkes-Barre was named by Major John Durkee in 1769 after two Englishmen, John Wilkes and
Isaac Barre, who fought for our freedom in the British Parliament.
Luzerne County was actually created from Northumberland County on Saturday, September 23,
1786, and named in honor of the French Colonial Ambassador to the United States, Chevalier
de la Luzerne.
Moses Tammany arrived from Ireland in 1836, and on July 28, 1849, he acquired most of the
land what is now Wilkes-Barre Township from Ebenezer and Lucy Sturdevant for the total sum
of $12,000. Tammany then went on and sold off parcels of his land to various coal
companies and to the pioneer settlers. (More on this later.)
In 1806, with the creation of Wilkes-Barre as a borough, Wilkes-Barre and Wilkes-Barre
Township began separate governments. In 1871, Wilkes-Barre became a city, and the present
boundary line was fixed between Wilkes-Barre City and the township. The township was
divided into six sections and named, Blackman, Georgetown, Warsaw, Stanton Hill, Storm
Hill and Bore Hole sections.
Going Back in Time
Part 2
The earliest reports of anyone knowing about the existence of coal beds in Pennsylvania,
was by the Indians. In 1710, Indians knew of the existence of anthracite coal beds in the
Wyoming Valley area.
In 1769, Obadiah and Daniel Gore of Wilkes-Barre obtained the location of a deposit of
"black stones" from the Indians, and in time they learned to use and maintain an
ongoing fire. The Gore Brothers were the first in the valley to use anthracite coal in
their blacksmith shop.
In 1775, coal was being mined on the banks of the Susquehanna River, near Pittston. News
of this new heat generating substance soon spread to other Pennsylvania settlements.
In 1788, Judge Jesse Fell, of Wilkes-Barre, made nails with the use of anthracite and on
February 11, 1808, Judge Jesse Fell made an experiment in the bar room of his hotel at the
corner of Washington and Northampton Street, and on the flyleaves of "The Free
Mason’s Monitor," wrote the following memorandum, "made the experiments of
burning the common stone-coal of the valley on a grate, in a common fire-place in my
house, and find it will answer the purpose of fuel, making it a clearer and better fire,
and less expense, than burning wood in the common way." This experiment excited great
interest and people came from far and near to watch further experiments, which were made
in a grate of iron, and soon there were dozens of similar grates being constructed and put
into use. From this point on, the use of anthracite coal took on a whole new prospective
as another type of fuel.
After Fell’s discovery, there was a big demand for hard coal. Between 1820 and 1860,
the production of anthracite coal rose from 4,000 tons to 11 million tons. Then in 1914,
the demand was so great, 90 million tons of anthracite was mined.
There was a great need for men who were knowledgeable in the mining industry. The English,
Welsh and German were the first of the immigrant groups to be hired. Then came the Irish
around 1846. The Irish seemed to get all the work that the other ethnic groups didn’t
want to do. In the early 1880’s, the Slavs started migrating to the coal fields. Most
of the Slavs were of Polish descent and Hungarians, Slovaks and Rusyns from what was
originally named Austria/Hungary. The English-speaking people called them Slavs and some
called them, "Hunky."
When the Irish started getting better paying jobs, the Slavs filled in on all the hard,
dangerous and low paying jobs that the Irish once had. At this point of time, the Slavs
became the minority workers. In the early years, the Irish distanced themselves from the
Slavs, being that the Slavs talked, dressed and acted differently than the Irish. Each
group kept to themselves. It had to be a difficult time for the new settlers. A long
period of friction existed between the English speaking and non-English speaking miners.
By 1920, the Polish immigrants were the largest group living in the
township.
The coal companies built "company" houses for the immigrant miners and their
families. (Some of these houses still exist on E. Northampton St. and Spruce Street in the
township, although through the years they have all been remodeled.) Rent was cheap which
was deducted from the miner’s pay. Other miner immigrants left their wives and
children behind in their native land and boarded with families until they were able to
save enough in order to bring their families to live with them.
In 1899, John Mitchell came to our area in an effort to organize the miners. He realized
that the coal companies main desire was to keep the new groups separated from the main
stream of their culture.
Working conditions were horrendous at the time and miners were fortunate if they earned
$300 a year. It has been said that the coal company owners took better care and thought
more of their mules than of the miners. If a miner died in the mines, his widow did not
receive any compensation. The oldest child was then responsible for working in order to
care for his mother and siblings in any way he was capable of. In those days, it was not
unusual for families to be large.
The sight of the "Black Moriah" was always dreaded. It brought shudders to those
wives of miners who knew that just maybe, they were bringing home their husband or son.
Many of the local kids would see the "Black Moriah," coming up the street and
would be running alongside or behind it. By this time, the wives of the miners would be
waiting or watching on the front porches or stoops hoping that the "Black
Moriah," would pass by. If the miner was dead, they would place him on the front
porch of his home. Friends or neighbors would come and take the body into the house,
clean, dress him in his finest suit and prepare the deceased for his wake in the family
home.
The United Mine Workers won their strike in 1900, thus setting the stage for the strike of
1902. Wilkes-Barre Township played a significant role in the Industrial Revolution and
would now take a decisive role in the labor history of the United States. The strike of
1902 was considered the most important labor dispute in the history of our nation.
Large numbers of the Coal and Iron police and National Guardsmen were brought into the
area. The strike lasted for nearly seven months and was finally settled by the
intervention of President Theodore Roosevelt. The miners did not win in monetary terms,
but the companies were obliged to negotiate with the union. This was the first time in the
history of this nation that a union was recognized.
Another strike occurred in 1925-26, and this strike ultimately led to the decline of the
anthracite industry as thousands of families moved from the valley at this time.
In 1933, the miners felt they were let down by their union president, John L. Lewis. This
led to the creation of a new union, the Anthracite Workers. This new union only lasted two
years when the miners could not resist the United Mine Workers of America and the federal
government.
Rev. John J. Curran, who was then the pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Wilkes-Barre
rallied for the miners’ cause from 1902 until his death in 1936. He became a forceful
figure with the miners and became closely associated with Thomas Maloney, who lived in the
township. Maloney, along with his four year old son, was killed during the Good Friday
bombings in 1936. Dynamite bombs were mailed to victims in the guise of Easter gifts.
The township did not go unscathed and had mine disasters as well. On June 5, 1919, 92
miners were killed and 40 injured in the Baltimore Mine Tunnel disaster. This mine
disaster was the second greatest disaster in the history of anthracite mining. The
greatest was the Avondale shaft catastrophe on Sept. 6, 1869 when 110 men and boys lost
their lives in the mine fire. (Many were father and sons.)
Other collieries that were located within the confines of the township were the Franklin,
Empire, Stanton, Hollenback and Huber colliery in nearby Ashley.
Wilkes-Barre Township played an important role in the mining industry at one time when
coal was king.
On January 22, 1959, the Knox mine disaster (when the Susquehanna River broke through the
mine and flooded all the underground mines) ended the deep coal mining era in the entire
Wyoming Valley. Later coal was strip mined from the surface for several years and today
the mining of coal is a thing of the past.
As a daughter of a coal miner, I never realized what my father had to endure in order to
provide a better life for his family until I took a tour of the Lackawanna Mine at McDade
Park. I never could have imagined the hardships and the danger that coal miners worked in
day after day for years. I would wholeheartedly encourage anyone who ever had a family
member working in the coal mines to take this coal mine tour. You will certainly have a
greater appreciation and respect for anyone who has ever worked in the coal mines.
Going Back in Time
Part 3
When the township was first settled in 1774, the only method of traveling
in the township at that time was by way of a horse. Then years later the first horse car
line opened in 1866 which connected Wilkes-Barre with Kingston. At that time, the driver
of the horse car had to brave all kinds of inclement weather while standing on an
unprotected front platform of the horse car.
A much better means of traveling was sought, and years later, a single track was laid
along the side of the road from Coalville (which is now present day Ashley), through the
Newtown section to Hanover Township, then to the Wilkes-Barre city line on Hazle Street to
Wilkes-Barre Township. The track continued on to the Wilkes-Barre city line at the canal
(where tracks of the Penn Central railroad were located). The track then continued on to
South Washington Street, as far as South Street and from South Street to South Main Street
in Wilkes-Barre.
Formal opening of this line took place on Monday, December 20, 1869. The first line
consisted of two cars which cost approximately $1,800. The cars were heated in the
wintertime by means of coal stoves, which was a luxury at that time when compared to the
Kingston line which relied solely on several inches of straw scattered on the floor for
the purpose of keeping the passengers’ feet warm in the winter. The township’s
horse drawn street railway ended in 1871.
For individuals who traveled long distance, there was a stagecoach line which ran from
East Northampton Street in the township over the Wilkes-Barre Turnpike which connected
with Easton, and from there they would be able to connect with other areas.
The electric street car then came into existence in the township in 1893. The street car
traveled from the township line at Empire Street, through the Heights area to South Main
Street in Wilkes-Barre. This route was called the "Georgetown" line, so
passengers would know which car they should take. At that time, the township residents had
to walk to Empire Street in order to get on or off the street car. It would be many years
later before the street cars would actually run to the end of East Northampton Street in
the township.
It was reported in a local newspaper at that time that a reporter, who rode the street car
for the first time when it came into the township, wrote that young boys at Empire and
Market Street were making a great deal of trouble for the conductor by placing large
stones on the street car tracks. He also wrote that he noticed that many of the women at
Empire Street and Park Avenue were so fascinated by the street car that they did nothing
all that day but sit on their porches and watch the street cars pass by their doors.
Because of the steep hills in the Georgetown and Heights sections, the motormen had plenty
of exercise stopping the street cars because the street cars had no air brakes. They had
to use their physical power in order to apply the hand brakes on the hills.
The traction company then pursued plans to build three spans over the railroad tracks on
East Market Street. The work which began on August 29, 1896, was completed and open for
regular service on October 28 of that year. No plans were taken, however, on extending the
line into Georgetown until a line was installed on East Northampton Street. This line took
approximately four months to complete.
According to a newspaper article published by the Wilkes-Barre Record on Monday, June 1,
1908, the article stated that the traction company did a record breaking business on
Saturday (May 30), and were able to handle the large crowd of at least 150,000 passengers
on their local lines without any incidents. The enormous traffic that weekend was in part
due to the many attractions due to the Memorial Day holiday weekend observance and also
the Giant’s Despair auto hill climb was held that weekend. The traction company
estimated that there were approximately 16,000 passengers transported on the Georgetown
line alone that weekend.
Because the residents of Georgetown and Laurel Run continuing insistence that the traction
company extend their line to the township and Laurel Run Borough boundary, the company
finally gave in and a track was eventually laid up East Northampton Street to the top of
the hill. The first street car to run to the top of the hill was on November 13, 1924. The
Georgetown line which first opened in 1896 was now completed 28 years later.
The Georgetown line was then converted to a trolley coach operation in 1947.
Due to a final reorganization of the system, which resulted in formation of the
Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation in August of 1947, the new management eliminated all
trolley coach service in the valley and the last Georgetown trolley coach ran on Sunday,
September 22, 1958 with buses then serving the township.
The Georgetown line was used extensively by residents many years ago, not like today. Many
times passengers could not get a seat and would have to stand the entire route. Cars at
that time were scarce as there would only be one car to a family household, so the means
of travel was by public transportation.
Perhaps many a township resident will recall that it was not an uncommon sight years ago
to see many an adventurous teenager hop on the back of a street car in order to get a free
ride into Wilkes-Barre. Also, teenagers were known to get injured when the wheels of their
bikes would get caught in the street car tracks.
Today the Luzerne County Transportation Authority buses traverse East Northampton Street
over a route which in the past has seen both diesel and gasoline buses, the electric
powered trolley coaches, street cars and a stage coach line connecting Wyoming Valley with
the outside world.
