110-525: The Scranton general strike was a widespread work stoppage in 1877 by workers in Scranton, Pennsylvania , which took place as part of the Great Railroad Strike , and was the last in a number of violent outbreaks across Pennsylvania. The strike began on July 23 when railroad workers walked off the job in protest of recent wage cuts, and within three days it grew to include perhaps thousands of workers from
220-454: A steam railroad that entered Scranton in 1863. During this short period of time, the city rapidly transformed from a small, agrarian-based village of people with New England roots to a multicultural, industrial-based city. From 1860 to 1900, the city's population increased more than tenfold. Most new immigrants, such as the Irish, Italians, and south Germans and Polish, were Catholic, a contrast to
330-459: A contiguous quilt-work that also includes Wilkes-Barre , Nanticoke , Pittston , and Carbondale . Scranton was incorporated on February 14, 1856, as a borough in Luzerne County and as a city on April 23, 1866. It became a major industrial city and a center of mining and railroads; it attracted thousands of new immigrants. It was the site of the Scranton general strike in 1877. The city
440-411: A hill and the city's iron mills at 8:00 a.m. They censured those in the companies who had returned openly to work, as well those working in secret. During the meeting, an activist showed a forged letter claiming that Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company would reduce wages to $ 0.35 per day. W. W. Scranton, manager of the company, later denied this, but the rumor spurred an angry protest. Men yelled, "Go for
550-513: A port on the lake, the company could receive iron ore shipped from the Mesabi Range in Minnesota , which was being newly mined. Scranton forged ahead as the capital of the anthracite coal industry. Attracting the thousands of workers needed to mine coal, the city developed new neighborhoods dominated by Italian and Eastern European immigrants, who brought their foods, cultures and religions. Many of
660-535: A possible armed confrontation, drilled by those of its members who were Civil War veterans. The group used the mine company store owned by W. W. Scranton as their headquarters, after vacating two other locations because owners feared the presence of the group would attract violence. A dispatch from Scranton on July 29 summarized the current state of things: The entire Lackawanna region is idle. Week before last this region sent nearly 150,000 tons of coal to market. Last week it did not send any ... The situation here
770-540: A renewed interest in the city's buildings and history. Some historic properties have been renovated and marketed as tourist attractions. The Steamtown National Historic Site captures the area's once-prominent position in the railroad industry. The former DL&W train station was restored as the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel . The Electric City Trolley Museum was created next to the DL&;W yards that
880-504: A score of those involved in the shooting were arrested for murder, and later tried and found not-guilty of the crime of manslaughter . Two were tried and one convicted in libel suits related to published criticism of the militia. The militia would go on to be reformed into a battalion of the Pennsylvania National Guard . Opinions differ on the root causes of the strike and ensuing violence. The Long Depression , sparked in
990-536: A store for families, stocked by the donations of local businessmen and farmers, to relieve those who were suffering as negotiations to end the strike continued. A piece appeared in the newspaper accusing W.W. Scranton and the men of the Corps of murder. This prompted a meeting of local businessmen at the Anthracite Club, which resolved that the men of the Corps should be commended for their "courageous efforts" in dispersing
1100-617: A strike in response were fruitless. The next two years saw the mines run on two-thirds time, and another wage reduction of fifteen percent was made in 1876. Again, efforts to organize a strike were ineffective. By the summer of 1877 tensions were high as news spread of the violence in industrial centers across Pennsylvania and the nation. Making matters worse, the local mining companies had again reduced wages, and railroad and industry owners imposed similar cuts for rail and manufacturing workers. As one observer stated "the great trouble here in Scranton
1210-614: A supply of quality water outside the city, Scranton dammed Stafford Meadow Brook, creating what was commonly known as Lake Scranton. He had a road built around it and a building for overlook and recreation by the public. The reservoir held 2.5 billion gallons. Scranton supported the Scranton Surface Protection Association, founded in 1913 to combat collapse of city streets and neighborhoods caused by underground mining, and force mining companies to compensate for losses. He contributed $ 10,000 to its efforts. Scranton
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#17328510434841320-415: A variety of industries. Many had returned to work when violence erupted on August 1 after a mob attacked the town's mayor, and then clashed with local militia , leaving four dead and many more wounded. State and federal troops were called to the town, and imposed martial law . Minor acts of violence continued until the last of the strikers returned to work on October 17, having won no concessions. More than
1430-536: Is a mid-sized city, the larger Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area contains half a million residents in roughly 300 square miles (780 km ). Scranton is the cultural and economic center of Northeastern Pennsylvania, a region of the state with over 1.3 million residents. Scranton hosts a federal court building for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania . The city
1540-450: Is absolutely painful, and there is no knowing what moment an outbreak will occur. On July 30, due to the efforts of Mayor McKune, who assured the strikers that railway traffic would resume even if it meant enforcement by troops, the strikers from the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad returned to work at their old wages. Telegrams were sent to New York City and Binghamton stating, "all
1650-492: Is at or below 0 °F (−18 °C). Precipitation is generally slightly greater during late spring and summer, while winter is generally the driest. On average, each month sees 10 to 13 days of precipitation, and the mean annual total is 38.72 inches (983 mm). Snowfall is variable, with some winters bringing light snow and others bringing numerous snowstorms. For the 1991–2020 period, snowfall has averaged 45.1 inches (115 cm) per year, with January accounting for most of
1760-467: Is conventionally divided into nine districts: North Scranton, Southside, Westside, Eastside/Hill Section, Central City, Minooka, West Mountain, East Mountain, and Green Ridge, though these areas do not have legal status. The city is the geographic and cultural center of the Lackawanna River valley and Northeastern Pennsylvania, as well as the largest of the former anthracite coal mining communities in
1870-405: Is filled with Molly Maguires." Each man was subsequently released August 10 on $ 3,000 bail. The charge of murder was later amended to manslaughter by the grand jury indictment. The trial was convened November 26 under Judge Harding, with the widow of Patrick Langan, one of those slain on August 1, named as prosecutor. Of the 20 subpoenaed by the prosecution to bear witness to the peaceful nature of
1980-460: Is interred in the family chapel at Dunmore Cemetery in Dunmore, Pennsylvania , where his father was also interred. His wake was attended by thousands, and his funeral by hundreds, including numerous employees from his businesses, friends and family, and dignitaries, inckuding former Vermont governor Edward Curtis Smith and his wife, who were close friends. In 1928, his son Worthington Scranton sold
2090-471: Is located 56 miles (90 km) north of Allentown , 104 miles (167 km) north-northwest of Philadelphia , and 99 miles (159 km) west-northwest of New York City . In 1778, during the colonial era , Isaac Tripp, the area's first known white settler, built his home here; it still stands in North Scranton, formerly a separate town known as Providence. More settlers from Connecticut Colony came to
2200-626: Is our population, an excess of miners for the work to be done." On July 23, the workers of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad in Scranton proposed that their wages be restored to that prior to the recently imposed 10% reduction. On July 24 at 12:00 P.M., 1,000 employees of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company , unaffiliated with the railroad, peacefully walked out due to their own wage reduction. The railroad workers struck at 6:00 P.M. that same day. The railroad strike carried implications for
2310-575: Is shown most forcibly by the fact that despite the powerful protection now here for those who desire to pursue their peaceful avocations, none of the miners have returned to work, and the mine pumps are still worked by the bosses and clerks in the employ of the companies ... They will be peaceable while the soldiers are here, but when they go away, they will have many a grievance to redress from their standpoint. The Pennsylvania State forces were joined on August 6 by seven companies of United States Regulars under Lieutenant Colonel Brennan, and on August 9 by
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#17328510434842420-663: Is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Wyoming Valley metropolitan area, which has a population of 562,037 as of 2020. It is the sixth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. The contiguous network of five cities and more than 40 boroughs all built in a straight line in Northeastern Pennsylvania's urban core act culturally and logistically as one continuous city, so while Scranton
2530-485: The Great Railroad Strike , attracted workers from the steel industry and mining as well, and developed as the Scranton General Strike . Four rioters were killed during unrest during the strike, after the mayor mustered a militia. With violence suppressed by militia and federal troops, workers finally returned to their jobs, not able to gain any economic relief. William Walker Scranton , from the prominent family,
2640-703: The Knights of Labor as mayor of Scranton. After that, he became national leader of the KoL, a predominately Catholic organization that had a peak membership of 700,000 circa 1880. While the Catholic Church had prohibited membership in secret organizations since the mid-18th century, by the late 1880s with the influence of Archbishop James Gibbons of Baltimore, Maryland , it supported the Knights of Labor as representing workingmen and union organizing. The landmark Coal strike of 1902
2750-592: The Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company after his father's death in 1872. The company had been founded by his father's cousin George W. Scranton . Among his innovations, Scranton adopted the Bessemer process for his operations in 1876, greatly increasing production of steel ties with a new mill. Scranton founded the Scranton Steel Company, in 1891 consolidated as Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company . The steel company became
2860-1079: The Montage Mountain ski resort , the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins , AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins ; the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders , AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees , PNC Field , and the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain concert venue. On September 22, 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant , which produces 155mm artillery shells that Ukraine's military uses. Scranton's total area of 25.4 square miles (66 km ) includes 25.2 square miles (65 km ) of land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km ) of water, according to
2970-525: The New York, Ontario and Western Railway (NYO&W). As the vast rail network spread above ground, an even larger network of railways served the rapidly expanding system of coal veins underground. Miners, who in the early years were typically Welsh and Irish, were hired as cheaply as possible by the coal barons. The workers endured low pay, long hours and unsafe working conditions. Children as young as eight or nine worked 14-hour days separating slate from coal in
3080-511: The Scranton General Strike of 1877. This was in part due to the larger Great Railroad Strike , in which railroad workers began to organize and participate in walkouts after wage cuts in Martinsburg, West Virginia . The national economy had lagged since the Panic of 1873, and workers in many industries struggled with low wages and intermittent work. In Scranton, mineworkers followed the railroad men off
3190-658: The United Mine Workers . The sub-surface mining weakened whole neighborhoods, however, damaging homes, schools, and businesses when the land collapsed. In 1913 the state passed the Davis Act to establish the Bureau of Surface Support in Scranton. Because of the difficulty in dealing with the coal companies, citizens organized the Scranton Surface Protection Association, chartered by the Court of Common Pleas on November 24, 1913 "to protect
3300-810: The United States Census Bureau . Scranton is drained by the Lackawanna River . Center City is about 750 feet (229 m) above sea level, although the hilly city's inhabited portions range about from 650 to 1,400 feet (200 to 430 m). The city is flanked by mountains to the east and west whose elevations range from 1,900 to 2,100 feet (580 to 640 m). Scranton has a humid continental climate ( Köppen Dfa ), with four distinct seasons. Summers have occasional heat waves bringing temperatures well above 90 °F (32 °C), while winters can have cold snaps bringing temperatures below 0 °F (−18 °C). The monthly daily average temperature in January,
3410-436: The breakers . Often, the workers were forced to use company-provided housing and purchase food and other goods from stores owned by the coal companies. With hundreds of thousands of immigrants arriving in the industrial cities, mine owners did not have to search for labor and workers struggled to keep their positions. Later miners came from Italy and eastern Europe, which people fled because of poverty and lack of jobs. Business
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3520-402: The "Electric City". The city's industrial production and population peaked during the 1930s and 1940s, caused by demand for coal and textiles, especially during World War II . But while the national economy boomed after the war, demand for the region's coal declined as other forms of energy became more popular, which also harmed the rail industry. Foreseeing the decline, city leaders formulated
3630-436: The 10th of this month there has been no reduction in your wages for nearly a year, while during that time there has been a falling off in the prices we get for iron and steel of over twenty-five per cent. I think you ought to consider these things fully and reflect whether the little work we can give you is not better than no work at all. I assure you when prices will warrant it we shall be very glad to pay wages in proportion. On
3740-585: The Brotherhood of Trainmen. Following a meeting of the railway strikers, the firemen and brakemen agreed to return to work at their previous wages. Shortly thereafter, the mill workers returned to work, with assurances from W. W. Scranton. The miners, however, denounced the concession and resolved to continue the strike. The Citizens' Corps assembled in the Forest & Stream Sportsman's Club and elected officers, including Ezra H. Ripple as their captain. Ripple obtained
3850-451: The Citizens' Corps on charges of Willful Murder. The arrest warrants were placed in the custody of constables, with orders to execute them. Some of the suspects may not have been present at the time that strikers were killed. General Huidekoper dispatched troops to take control of the prisoners. This was done primarily to ensure the safety of the men, as it was believed that those who had been in
3960-617: The Erie Railroad in Great Bend, Pennsylvania . Thus they could transport manufactured rails from the Lackawanna Valley to New York and the Midwest. They also invested in coal mining operations in the city to fuel their steel operations, and to market it to businesses. In 1856, they expanded the railroad eastward as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W), in order to tap into
4070-549: The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and the 1902 Anthracite Strike. In 2008 the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission placed a historical marker commemorating the 1877 strike in Scranton. The inscription reads: Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania , United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census , Scranton
4180-596: The Hill and Green Ridge sections of the city. The industrial workers, who tended to be later immigrants from Ireland and southern and eastern Europe, were predominately Catholic. With a flood of immigrants in the market, they suffered poor working conditions and wages. In 1902, the dwindling local iron ore supply, labor issues, and an aging plant cost the city the industry on which it was founded. The Lackawanna Steel Company and many of its workers were moved to Lackawanna, New York , developed on Lake Erie just south of Buffalo . With
4290-584: The Laurel Line ceased passenger service. The Scranton Transit Company, whose trolleys had given the city its nickname, transferred all operations to buses as the 1954 holiday season approached; by the end of 1971, it ceased all operations. The city was left without any public transportation system for almost a year until the Lackawanna County government formed COLTS , which began operations in late 1972 with 1950s-era GM busses from New Jersey. Scranton had been
4400-699: The New York City metropolitan market. This railroad, with its hub in Scranton, was Scranton's largest employer for almost one hundred years. The Pennsylvania Coal Company built a gravity railroad in the 1850s through the city for the purpose of transporting coal. The gravity railroad was replaced by a steam railroad built in 1886 by the Erie and Wyoming Valley Railroad (later absorbed by the Erie Railroad). The Delaware and Hudson (D&H) Canal Company, which had its own gravity railroad from Carbondale to Honesdale , built
4510-473: The Scranton Times and Labor Advocate, charging W. W. Scranton with the "crime of murder" during the 1877 strike. These articles were published during a period of intense lobbying in Pennsylvania to organize an independent Lackawanna County and designate the city of Scranton as its county seat. (The new county was chartered by October 1878.) Stanton had been sitting judge in 1877 and was arrested for libel in
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4620-512: The Scranton Plan in 1945 to diversify the local economy beyond coal, but the city's economy continued to decline. The Knox Mine disaster of 1959 essentially ended coal mining in the region. Scranton's population dropped by over 67,000, from its peak of 143,433 in the 1930 census , to 76,089 in the 2010 census , but had rebounded slightly by 2020. The city now has large health care, academic, tourism, railroad, and manufacturing sectors. Scranton
4730-653: The Scranton case after being implicated by witnesses; he was alleged to have written an "incendiary" piece in the Advocate, "calculated to incite the killing of Mr. Scranton". Two separate trials were held: in September 1879 Chase was found guilty and sentenced to a $ 200 fine and 30 days imprisonment. Stanton was acquitted in his own trial that month. He had been forced to resign from the judgeship in February 1879. According to Azzarelli, two events stand out in Scranton's labor history:
4840-592: The Steamtown NHS occupies. Since the mid-1980s the Scranton Cultural Center has operated the architecturally significant Masonic Temple and Scottish Rite Cathedral, designed by Raymond Hood , as the region's performing arts center. The Houdini Museum was opened in Scranton in 1990 by nationally known magician Dorothy Dietrich . According to The Guardian , the city was close to bankruptcy in July 2012, with
4950-553: The Third United States Infantry Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Henry Marrow. On August 10, General Huidekoper and his state forces departed. By October 8, some of the miners of the Pennsylvania Coal Company, who were forced to join the strike by the actions of that July, resolved to return to work, but were prevented two days later when the only line of transportation for their coal was burned by
5060-1205: The US by the Panic of 1873 , had far reaching implications for US industry, shuttering more than a hundred railroads in the first year and cutting construction of new rail lines from 7,500 miles of track in 1872 to 1,600 miles in 1875. Approximately 18,000 businesses failed between 1873, and in 1875, production in iron and steel alone dropped as much as 45%, and a million or more lost their jobs. In 1876 alone, 76 railroad companies went bankrupt or entered receivership . The resulting public dissatisfaction erupted July 14, 1877 in Martinsburg, West Virginia , and spread to Maryland, New York, Illinois, Missouri and Pennsylvania. Violence broke out in Pittsburgh , and between July 21 and 22, 40 were killed and more than 1,000 rail cars and 100 engines were destroyed. Another 16 were killed in an uprising in Shamokin, Pennsylvania , and strikers set fire to much of central Philadelphia in disturbances there. In 1874 mine owners reduced workers' wages by ten percent. Efforts to rouse
5170-563: The United States. In 1876 Scranton built a new mill at the Lackawanna works for the Bessemer method. As a result, it "doubled capacity and quadrupled its output." The company became one of the top producers of steel in the United States. Scranton was leading the company during the economic downturn in the 1870s, and through the disturbances of the Scranton General Strike of 1877. Workers from
5280-541: The approval of General Osbourne, the commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard, to procure arms for the company. Within three days, they acquired 350 guns as well as ammunition. Rumors spread that the strike was weakening. Volunteers and others not connected with the miners association took over the mine pumps, which had been abandoned by the miners, in order to prevent flooding of the tunnels. There were minor acts of violence. The Citizens' Corps prepared for
5390-570: The area in the late 18th and early 19th centuries following the end of the American Revolutionary War , since their state claimed the area as part of their colonial charter. They gradually established mills and other small businesses in a village that became known as Slocum Hollow. People in the village during this time carried the traits and accent of their New England settlers, which were somewhat different from most of Pennsylvania. Some area settlers from Connecticut participated in what
5500-486: The authorizing process. Scranton was designated by the state legislature as the county seat of the newly formed county, which was also established as a separate judicial district, with state judges moving over from Luzerne County after courts were organized in October 1878. This was the last county in the state to be organized. Creation of the new county, which enabled both more local control and political patronage, helped begin
5610-629: The blood of these victims must be upon their own heads. That day the jury returned verdicts of not guilty on all charges. Some of the prominent strikers were also arrested, but none was sentenced to punishment. W. W. Scranton filed libel suits in 1879 against Aaron Augustus Chase, editor of the Scranton Daily Times (now the Times-Tribune ), and state Judge William Stanton . The suits were related to "inflammatory articles" published in August 1878 in
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#17328510434845720-419: The city population had swelled beyond 140,000 due to growth in the mining and silk textile industries. World War II created a great demand for energy, which led to the highest production from mining in the area since World War I. After World War II , coal lost favor to oil and natural gas as a heating fuel, largely because the latter types were more convenient to use. While some U.S. cities prospered in
5830-412: The city was 83.1% White , 5.9% African American , 0.1% Native American , 4.7% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race make up 14.8% of the population. William Walker Scranton William Walker Scranton (April 4, 1844 – December 3, 1916) was an American businessman based in Scranton, Pennsylvania . He became president and manager of
5940-430: The city, and would by so much increase the burden of taxation. In one day Pittsburgh has put upon herself a load that her taxpayers will struggle under for years. I again earnestly urge upon men of all classes in our city the necessity of sober, careful thought and the criminal folly of any precipitate action. On July 25 The New York Times reported that a general strike had taken place in Scranton. A committee representing
6050-593: The coal companies to continue their operations. "The case of Penman v. Jones came out differently. The Lackawanna Iron & Coal Co. had leased coal lands to the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Co., an allied interest, which passed the leases on to the Scranton Coal Co. Areas of central Scranton, the Hill Section, South Side, Pine Brook, Green Ridge and Hyde Park were affected by their mining activities. Mr. Penman
6160-403: The coldest month, is 28.0 °F (−2.2 °C), while the same figure in July, the warmest month, is 73.7 °F (23.2 °C). Extremes in temperatures have ranged from 101 °F (38 °C) down to −21 °F (−29 °C) on January 21, 1994; there is an average of 15 days of 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs, 39 days where the high fails to rise above freezing, and 3 days where the minimum
6270-481: The company merged with Regal, Cameo, Banner, and the U.S. branch of Pathé (makers of Pathé and Perfect ) to become the American Record Corporation . By 1938, the Scranton company was also pressing records for Brunswick , Melotone , and Vocalion . In 1946, the company was acquired by Capitol Records , which continued to produce phonograph records through the end of the vinyl era. By the mid-1930s,
6380-404: The company. Many did, and worked under guard of two companies of soldiers. That evening word came that a mob of some 500 were approaching the city with intent to "fix the black legs" (strikebreakers) at Pine Brook. Men of the guard were assembled at the mine and stood guard till morning. Every night following the 12th, at the request of the mayor, a 40-man garrison stood at the ready. On October 16
6490-438: The construction of loft-style apartments in older, architecturally significant buildings have attracted young professionals and artists. Many are individuals who grew up in Scranton, moved to big cities after high school and college, and decided to return to the area. Many buildings around the city that were once empty are currently being restored. Some of the newly renovated buildings are already being used. Attractions include
6600-480: The crowd, "The Mayor is killed!" He escaped however, aided by Father Dunn, who was carried away by the throng. W. W. Scranton's assembly met with the group near Washington Ave, with Bartholomew passing into the crowd along with those following him. As they went they were assailed with jeers of "See the damn vigilantes! We'll take their guns!" Several were struck and knocked down by stones and clubs, with shouts of "Go for their guns, they have only blank cartridges; kill
6710-474: The custody of the mayor and sheriff and taken by train to appear before the court in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania , the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania . At the time, it included the area of Lackawanna County, which was not organized until October 1878. Transportation by wagon was believed to be too dangerous, and would be vulnerable to attack. Again, as W. W. Scranton phrased it, "the whole neighborhood
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#17328510434846820-545: The family business after his return from Yale, and took over its management after his father's death in 1872. He had to struggle with economic disruptions after the Panic of 1873 , which had effects for years and caused a downturn. In 1874 Scranton traveled to Europe to study the new Bessemer process for making steel ties, which was being used by England, France and Germany; it had been developed in England by Henry Bessemer . From 1866 to 1877, eleven Bessemer mills were licensed in
6930-571: The former grounds of the Lackawanna Steel Company, and operations started in 1903. Beginning in 1907, Scrantonians could also ride trolley cars to the northern suburbs of Clarks Summit and Dalton . They could travel to Lake Winola and Montrose using the Northern Electric Railroad. After the 1920s, no new trolley lines were built, but bus operations were started and expanded to meet service needs. In 1934, Scranton Railways
7040-506: The hub of its operations until the Erie Lackawanna merger, after which it no longer served in this capacity. This was another severe blow to the local labor market. The NYO&W Railroad, which depended heavily on its Scranton branch for freight traffic, was abandoned in 1957. Mine subsidence was a spreading problem in the city as pillar supports in abandoned mines began to fail; cave-ins sometimes consumed entire blocks of homes. The area
7150-556: The immigrants joined the Democratic Party. Their national churches and neighborhoods were part of the history of the city. Several Catholic and Orthodox churches were founded and built during this period. A substantial Jewish community was also established, with most members coming from the Russian Empire and eastern Europe. Working conditions for miners were improved by the efforts of labor leaders such as John Mitchell , who led
7260-538: The job, as did others. A protest of 5,000 strikers ended in violence, with a total of four men killed, and 20 to 50 injured, including the mayor. He had established a militia, but called for help from the governor and state militia. Governor John Hartranft eventually brought in federal troops to quell the strike. The workers gained nothing in wages, but began to organize more purposefully into labor unions that could wield more power. The nation's first successful, continuously operating electrified streetcar (trolley) system
7370-579: The last mine operations in Lackawanna County (which were in what is now McDade Park , and another on the Scranton/ Dickson City line) were closed. During the 1960s and 1970s, the silk and other textile industries shrank as jobs were moved to the South or overseas. In 1962, businessman Alex Grass opened his first "Thrif D Discount Center" drugstore on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton. The 17-by-75-foot (5 by 23 m) store, an immediate success,
7480-462: The lives and property of the citizens of the City of Scranton and the streets of said city from injury, loss and damage caused by mining and mine caves." In 1915 and 1917, the city and Commonwealth sought injunctions to prevent coal companies from undermining city streets but lost their cases. North Main Avenue and Boulevard Avenue, "both entitled to surface support, caved in as a result" of court decisions that went against civil authorities and allowed
7590-410: The majority-Protestant early settlers of colonial descent. National, ethnic, religious and class differences were wrapped into political affiliations, with many new immigrants joining the Democratic Party , and, for a time in the late 1870s, the Greenbacker-Labor Party . In 1856, the borough of Scranton was officially incorporated. It was incorporated as a city of 35,000 in 1866 in Luzerne County, when
7700-470: The miners called a meeting with W. R. Storrs, coal superintendent. They demanded higher wages, and vowed not to return to work, even if the railroad workers abandoned their strike. The brakemen, firemen and others joined, and every industry in the city was halted with the exception of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. The railway strikers held a mass meeting and resolved to demand a 25 percent increase in wages, "in order to supply ourselves and our little ones with
7810-427: The miners held a meeting and unanimously voted to return to work. They did so beginning the next day, having won nothing in concessions. On October 19, the Governor advised President Rutherford B. Hayes that the federal troops could be withdrawn. The Thirteenth Infantry departed the city on October 31, and Colonel Hartley's temporary forces departed in November 1877. On August 8, a coroner's jury indicted 22 members of
7920-560: The mob and averting calamity, and that they would "stand shoulder and purse if need be in their defense." Governor Hartranft arrived in the city along with his staff and 800 men of the Pennsylvania National Guard Second Division, under the command of General Henry S. Huidekoper . W. W. Scranton wrote August 3 to the Philadelphia Times: The sullen determination of the strikers in the recent struggle
8030-421: The mob, and compatriots of those slain, intended to do them harm. As W. W. Scranton wrote of the situation: They hold that we are guilty of murder, and with their aldermanic jury's verdict to back them, they would hold a court of Judge Lynch and hang the unfortunate one of us who got into their clutches without an hour's delay, providing they didn't first tear him to pieces ... The accused were transferred to
8140-487: The morning of July 26, Mayor McKune proposed organizing a group of armed special police to help maintain order in the city. At the time the local militia were stationed across the state in response to railway strike-related struggles occurring in Altoona , Harrisburg , and Pittsburgh. The police group was later renamed as the "Scranton Citizens' Corps," and included 116 members. Mayor McKune met on July 27 with representatives of
8250-429: The necessaries of life." General Manager William Walker Scranton replied that same day, insisting that "nothing in the world would give me more pleasure," but continued: with the present frightfully low prices of iron and steel rails it is utterly impossible for us to advance wages at all ... Our steel works, as everybody knows, are now idle because we have no work to do there. Until the reduction of ten per cent on
8360-482: The peace and quiet of the city in every emergency." Mayor Robert H. McKune issued a proclamation, urging "all good citizens to use their best efforts to preserve peace and uphold the law," and to "abstain from all excited discussion of the prominent question of the day." Referring to the recent violence in Pittsburgh, he concluded: Every taxpayer will realize that any destruction of property will have to be paid for by
8470-561: The post-war boom, the fortunes and population of Scranton (and the rest of Lackawanna and Luzerne counties) began to diminish. Coal production and rail traffic declined rapidly throughout the 1950s, causing a loss of jobs. In 1954, Worthington Scranton and his wife, Marion Margery Scranton , contributed one million dollars to establish the Scranton Foundation (now the Scranton Area Community Foundation ), which
8580-417: The protest, only six appeared to testify. Three admitted to seeing violence committed by the mob prior to the shooting. Many more testified on behalf of the accused. In his closing remarks for the defense, Stanley Woodward concluded: We therefore hold that there was a riot, and that these men here charged were in the full heroic performance of their duties as citizens when this unfortunate event occurred. But
8690-476: The railroad, mines and other industries walked out in protest of wage cuts, and associated with the Great Railroad Strike of that year, as labor unrest spread across the nation. In a dispute over control of the family company, Scranton in 1880 quit Lackawanna Iron and Coal Co., which had become the nation’s second-largest producer of iron. "He formed the Scranton Steel Co. and within a decade, Scranton Steel
8800-459: The remainder of local industry, as large amounts of goods could not be transported in or out of the city without the use of rail. As one man said, "If the coal trains shall cease to carry the coal to market, the mining of coal must cease." The strikers allowed some passenger trains to reach their destinations. They did not, however, allow mail to enter the city. The strikers met that night at Father Matthew Hall, and agreed to "Be in favor of maintaining
8910-500: The remaining strikers. By this point "outrages" were being committed on a daily basis: Placing obstructions upon the railroads, burning buildings, firing upon watchmen and pump engineers at the mines, and the robbing of arms in the neighborhood. On October 11, W. W. Scranton convinced some to return to work in the Pine Brook mine, and posted a notice that any miner who did not return to work the following day would no longer by employed by
9020-428: The seasonal total; on average, the first and last dates of measurable (≥0.1 in or 0.25 cm) snowfall are November 14 and March 31, respectively, with snow in October and April a rare occurrence. The hardiness zone is mostly 6b with 7a from downtown downriver and 6a up on Montage Mountain . [1] As of the 2020 census , there were 76,328 people and 31,039 households residing in the city. The racial makeup of
9130-540: The second largest in the nation. He later also managed the Scranton Gas and Water Company , developing a secure water supply outside the city by creating Lake Scranton. William W. Scranton managed the Lackawanna works during and after the Scranton General Strike of 1877. In 1902 Lackawanna Steel Company moved to a location south of Buffalo, New York on Lake Erie for access to new production of iron ore being shipped from Minnesota. The city of Lackawanna, New York
9240-473: The shops!," and the crowd moved against the Lackawanna Iron and Coal facilities. They routed other workers and injured some. In response, W. W. Scranton (along with First Sergeant Bartholomew, as Captain Ripple was out of town) led an assembly of his own employees and the Citizens' Corps. The Mayor confronted the crowd and urged them to halt, but was struck by a man, knocked down, and badly injured. Cries went up from
9350-656: The significance of these negotiations, the statue and the Courthouse were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. John Mitchell is buried in Cathedral Cemetery in Scranton." At the 1900 United States census , the population of Scranton was about 102,026, making it the third-largest city in Pennsylvania and 38th-largest U.S. city at the time. At the turn of the 20th century, wealthy businessmen and industrialists built impressive Victorian mansions in
9460-439: The sons-of-bitches." Pistols were fired and one of the posse was wounded in the knee. An order was given to fire, though it's doubtful it was heard, and three volleys were released into the crowd. which was quickly dispersed, leaving four dead or dying. Estimates of the wounded vary from 16 to 54. Father Dunn returned to comfort the mortally wounded. Over 200 members of the Citizens' Corps were mustered and posted as guards along
9570-632: The south, the industries that precipitated the city's early rapid growth were iron and steel . In the 1840s, brothers Selden T. and George W. Scranton , who had worked at Oxford Furnace in Oxford, New Jersey, founded what became Lackawanna Iron & Coal, later developing as the Lackawanna Steel Company . It initially started producing iron nails, but that venture failed due to low-quality iron. The Erie Railroad 's construction in New York State
9680-570: The streets. At 11:30 AM Mayor McKune issued the following proclamation: I hereby order all places of business to be immediately closed and all good citizens to hold themselves in readiness to assemble at my headquarters, at the office of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, upon a signal of four long whistles from the gong at the blast furnaces. He also wired the Governor, who informed that the National Guard brigade from Philadelphia, which had been on
9790-411: The surrounding boroughs of Hyde Park (now part of the city's West Side) and Providence (now part of North Scranton) were merged with Scranton. Twelve years later in 1878, the state passed a law enabling creation of new counties where a county's population surpassed 150,000, as did Luzerne's. The law appeared to enable the creation of Lackawanna County , and there was considerable political agitation around
9900-403: The wages of all municipal officials, including the mayor and fire chief, being cut to $ 7.25/hour. Financial consultant Gary Lewis, who lived in Scranton, was quoted as estimating that "on 5 July the city had just $ 5,000 cash in hand." Since the revitalization began, many coffee shops, restaurants, and bars have opened in the downtown. The low cost of living , pedestrian-friendly downtown, and
10010-435: The way home from quelling riots in Pittsburgh, had been diverted and were en route to Scranton. The night passed relatively quietly. Two spies were apprehended hiding in a lumber box wagon, attempting to ascertain the strength and activity of the Corps. They were questioned and released with assurances that the Corps was well prepared for any attack. In the early morning an attack was attempted on W. W. Scranton's residence, but
10120-791: The year before in an ironworks started by two of his cousins, brothers George and Selden T. Scranton. J.H. Scranton's investment in their firm in 1846 saved the firm from bankruptcy. He later became president of Lackawanna Iron & Coal, serving until his death in 1872. William was the oldest of six children, with two brothers and three sisters, all of whom were born after the family's move to Pennsylvania. They also had an older half-brother Joseph A. Scranton. He attended Scranton High , moving to Phillips Andover to complete preparation for college. William Scranton graduated from Yale in 1865. There he rowed crew as one of his sports. He married Katherine Maria Smith on October 15, 1874 in St. Albans, Vermont . She
10230-537: Was averted by the patrols that had been dispatched. On August 2 as many as 3,000 troops of the Pennsylvania National Guard First Division arrived from Pittsburgh under the command of Major General Robert Brinton, and imposed martial law. The troops had arrested an estimated 70 activists en route, and forced those apprehended to repair places where the railroad tracks between the cities had been destroyed. The Miner's Executive Committee opened
10340-404: Was booming at the end of the 19th century. The tonnage of coal mined increased virtually every year, as did the steel manufactured by the Lackawanna Steel Company. At one point the company had the largest steel plant in the United States, and it was still the second largest producer at the turn of the 20th century. By 1900, the city had a population of more than 100,000. In the late 1890s, Scranton
10450-538: Was called by anthracite miners across the region and led by the United Mine Workers under John Mitchell . The strike was settled by a compromise brokered by President Theodore Roosevelt . A statue of John Mitchell was installed in his honor on the grounds of the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton, "the site of the Coal Strike of 1902 negotiations in which President Roosevelt participated. Because of
10560-504: Was delayed by its having to acquire iron rails as imports from England. The Scrantons' firm decided to switch its focus to producing T-rails for the Erie; the company soon became a major producer of rails for the rapidly expanding railroads. In 1851, the Scrantons built the Lackawanna and Western Railroad (L&W) northward, with recent Irish immigrants supplying most of the labor, to meet
10670-523: Was designated as the county seat when Lackawanna County was established in 1878, and a judicial district was authorized in July 1879. The city's nickname "Electric City" began when electric lights were introduced in 1880 at the Dickson Manufacturing Company . Six years later, the United States' first streetcars powered only by electricity began operating in the city. Rev. David Spencer, a local Baptist minister, later proclaimed Scranton as
10780-523: Was established in the city in 1886, inspiring the nickname "The Electric City". In 1896, the city's various streetcar companies were consolidated into the Scranton Railway Company , which ran trolleys until 1954. By 1890, three other railroads had built lines to tap into the rich supply of coal in and around the city, including the Erie Railroad, the Central Railroad of New Jersey and finally
10890-452: Was going to be right again". The miners denounced the capitulation of the railway workers. Governor John F. Hartranft , informed of the situation by the Mayor, traveled from Harrisburg to Scranton with a force of militiamen and regulars. Some men, termed black-legs , began to flout the strike and return to work in secret. On August 1, as many as 5,000 strikers converged on an open space between
11000-579: Was home to a series of early International League baseball teams. Scranton has had a notable labor history; various coal worker unions struggled throughout the coal-mining era to improve working conditions, raise wages, and guarantee fair treatment for workers. The Panic of 1873 and other economic difficulties caused a national recession and loss of business. As the economy contracted, the railroad companies reduced wages of workers in most classes (while sometimes reserving raises for their top management). A major strike of railroad workers in August 1877, part of
11110-568: Was known as the Pennamite Wars , where settlers competed for control of the territory which had been included in royal colonial land grants to both states. The claim between Connecticut and Pennsylvania was settled by negotiation with the federal government 's involvement after the Revolutionary War. Though anthracite coal was being mined in Carbondale to the north and Wilkes-Barre to
11220-601: Was launched to support charitable and educational organizations in the city of Scranton. The Knox Mine Disaster of January 1959 virtually ended the mining industry in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The waters of the Susquehanna River flooded the mines. The DL&W Railroad, nearly bankrupted by the drop in coal traffic and the effects of Hurricane Diane , merged in 1960 with the Erie Railroad. Demand for public transportation also declined as new highways were built by federal subsidies and people purchased automobiles. In 1952,
11330-473: Was left scarred by abandoned coal mining structures, strip mines, and massive culm dumps , some of which caught fire and burned for many years until they were extinguished through government efforts. In 1970, the Secretary of Mines for Pennsylvania suggested that so many underground voids had been left by mining underneath Scranton that it would be "more economical" to abandon the city than make them safe. In 1973,
11440-664: Was named after the company. Scranton stayed in his home city, working to develop companies and infrastructure. William Walker Scranton was born in 1844 in Augusta, Georgia , the oldest of six children of Joseph Hand Scranton of Connecticut and his second wife Cornelia Walker (February 22, 1823-February 22, 1895), "ten years his junior, and the youngest daughter and child of the late Judge William P. Walker of Lenox, Massachusetts." Joseph Scranton started in business in Augusta, moving his family in 1847 to Scranton, Pennsylvania . He had invested
11550-552: Was re-incorporated as the Scranton Transit Company, reflecting that shift in transportation modes. Starting in the early 1920s, the Scranton Button Company (founded in 1885 and a major maker of shellac buttons) became one of the primary makers of phonograph records. They pressed records for Emerson (whom they bought in 1924), as well as Regal , Cameo , Romeo , Banner , Domino , Conqueror . In July 1929,
11660-460: Was so successful that it forced a merger with Lackawanna Iron and Coal. It became Lackawanna Iron and Steel and retired its founding $ 1.2 million debt within a year." Beginning in 1891, Scranton worked to develop Scranton Gas & Water, founded by his father in 1858. Although it had in the early decades taken water from the Lackawanna River, industrial pollution spoiled that source. To secure
11770-454: Was the daughter of Worthington Curtis Smith and Katherine (Walworth) Smith. They had one son, Worthington Scranton , who was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on August 29, 1876. Scranton's father Joseph became president of Lackawanna Iron & Coal after George's death in 1861. Selden Scranton had already returned in 1858 to Oxford Furnace in New Jersey. William Scranton started working in
11880-531: Was the private property owner in the case. The coal operators were defeated in this case." The public transportation system began to expand beyond the trolley lines pioneered by predecessors of the Scranton Railways system. The Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad , commonly referred to as the Laurel Line, was built as an interurban passenger and freight carrier to Wilkes-Barre . Its Scranton station, offices, powerhouse and maintenance facility were built on
11990-456: Was the progenitor of the Rite Aid national drugstore chain. During the 1970s and 1980s, many downtown storefronts and theaters became vacant. Suburban development followed the highways and suburban shopping malls became the dominant venues for shopping and entertainment. Since the mid-1980s, the city has emphasized revitalization. Local government and much of the community at large have adopted
12100-474: Was then general manager of Lackawanna Iron and Coal. He later founded Scranton Steel Company. The labor issues and growth of industry in Scranton contributed to Lackawanna County being established by the state legislature in 1878, with territory taken from Luzerne County. Scranton was designated as the county seat. This strengthened its local government. The unions failed to gain higher wages that year, but in 1878 they elected labor leader Terence V. Powderly of
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