| Along the Susquehanna and its tributaries,
within the present territory of Wyoming County, evidences are found of the former
existence of Indian towns at different points. These evidences consist of the
relics which are discovered in abundance at these places, not alone of weapons and hunting
implements, but of such simple domestic utensils and ornaments of shell and terra cotta as
were used among pre-Colombian Indians. In some of these localities, such relics are
so abundant as to attract the attention of casual observers, and considerable collections
of them have been made. Had these places been examined by a practiced archaeologist
before they were many times disturbed by the plow, the size, form, and even the age of
these villages might have been determined with a reasonable degree of accuracy.
Gradually, however, all traces of the people who formerly inhabited these regions are
becoming fainter and, as time goes on, they will be wholly obliterated. Three principle tribes that inhabited the area during l682,
(when Pennsylvania was becoming Pennsylvania) were the Lenni Lanapes, the Mingoes and the
Shawnees. These Indians had friendly relations with William Penn and his fellow
Quaker colonists.
On April 4, l842, a new county was born. On
that date, an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature formed Wyoming County out of sprawling
Luzerne County. Due to the distances involved for our ancestors to conduct county
business in faraway Wilkes Barre, Luzerne County was no longer able to serve the needs of
residents to the north.
The history of Wyoming County begins 70 years
before, in l722, when Zebulon Marcy founded the settlement of Marcy, located at the mouth
of the Susquehanna River and Tunkhannock Creek. In l788, the Wyoming Massacre forced
many Wyoming Valley residents to move northward in search of refuge. More settlers
came seeking fertile farmland along the Susquehanna River, and the population of Wyoming
County began to grow.
At that time, the area encompassing Wyoming
County was a part of Northumberland County, one of the original counties in
Pennsylvania. In l786, Luzerne County was formed from Northumberland and included
all of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Finally, Wyoming County was formed from Luzerne in
l842, and the present boundaries have stood for the last l56 years.
Tunkhannock, the largest town in the county,
was named as the county seat. The square now bounded by Marion, Washington, Warren and
Putnam Streets were appointed for the public buildings. The ground, which was then a
part of a farm and cultivated as such, was donated to the county by Thomas T. Slocum.
The first courthouse and jail were erected in
l843, (with funds about $5,000) raised by subscription among the citizens of Tunkhannock
and vicinity. They were erected under the supervision of a committee appointed by
the subscribers, and afterward turned over to the county commissioners, by whom they were
furnished at the expense of the county. The contractor who built them was Thomas H.
Parker. They were brick structures - the first brick buildings erected in the
borough. The courthouse was forty feet square, two stories in height. The
second story was wholly occupied as a courtroom, and the public offices and jury rooms
were on the first floor. The first session of the court held in this house was in
l844. Previous sessions had been held in the Methodist and Presbyterian
Churches. The public offices were kept in a building on what was then known as
Turnpike Street. This building was subsequently taken down to make way for the
canal.
The jail, which stood about l50 feet in the
rear of the courthouse had a stone basement, in which there were four cells for prisoners,
and a superstructure of brick for the sheriff or jailer's residence. It was first
occupied as a prison in l844.
A new jail was erected in l866, on the west
side of Slocum Street. It was of stone, one story in height, with a brick front of
two stories for a sheriff's residence. The jail proper was a 33 by 35 feet.
It had six cells and had a capacity for 10 prisoners. The brick front was 32 by 46
feet. The cost of the whole was $l5,520, including extras. G.W. Lung was the
architect, and Charles Place the contractor.
In l869, a contract was given to John W.
Crawford for the repair of the old courthouse and the erection of a new front,
constituting, in fact, almost a new structure, for the sum of $l8,980. The actual
cost of the building, which was completed by Charles Place, the surety of the contractor,
was $24,880, the additional $5,900 being for extra work directed by the
commissioners. The building was completed and accepted in l870. The front is
76 by 40 feet, three stories in height, with a rear projection of two stories, 70 feet
square. The whole is of brick, covered with cement. The architect was D.R.
Nott.
While the courthouse was in process of
repair, the court was held in the basement of the Methodist Church. The public
offices were kept in the second story of Little's building, on the east side of
Warren Street.
In l938, another addition was made at the
rear of the building. The contractor was Lewis Caputo, and the engineer was Cecil P.
Allen. During l978 and l979, extensive renovations to the interior were made and a clock
put in the steeple. A new addition was completed in l992. Aston Development
Corporation, of Clarks Summit, were the general contractors.
The
Last Hanging in Wyoming County
(from an article printed in the Wyalusing Rocket, May 25, l893)
Harris Blank and Isaac Rosenweig robbed
and murdered Jacob Marks, a Jewish peddler, on Dutch Mountain in March of
l892. They were found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging in l893. The
sheriff at this time was Charles S. Knapp. Invitations were issued to witness the
execution. A large number of people gathered in Tunkhannock to witness the
hanging. All the trains entering the town in the early part of the day were crowded,
and the streets were filled with men who wished to see the double execution. The
bars were filled, and stores held special sales.
The crowd commenced to gather at the Wyoming
County Jail at 9:30 a.m., many arriving hours early to obtain a good view of the
proceedings. Three friends of the condemned men were permitted to have a short
interview with them, and told them to obey the officers and die like men. At ll:30
o'clock, Rosenweig appeared in the jail doorway with Sheriff Knapp. They were
followed closely by Blank, supported by Coroner Bidleman. They stepped quickly
along the passageway between the crowds of spectators who remained silent.
At the foot of the steps leading to the
gallows, the condemned were met by members of the Jewish Committee from Wilkes
Barre. Blank stepped forward and kissed the leader from the committee, saying,
"Between God and you and me, I am innocent. I never had a hand in that. I
would not be here but for him" and pointed to Rosenweig. The faces of both men
were ghastly livid as they stepped to the gallows.
Blank stood in a position, rigid as a statue
and said: "I am satisfied. Good-bye, good people. There are no bad
people." and in Hebrew he said, "God be merciful." Rosenweig said not
a word. In an instant, the trap was sprung, the bodies dropped simultaneously.
Rosenweig's body hung twenty minutes and
Blank's a minute or two longer before it was cut down and taken in the jail. They
were buried in a Hebrew Cemetery in Wilkes Barre.
Agricultural Societies
The Wyoming County Agricultural Society was
organized in Wyoming County in about l855. It was not incorporated, and was under a
code of laws voluntarily adopted. Its first president was Elisha Sharp. The
society leased, and temporarily fitted up, a lot of five acres, a portion of which became
the Tunkhannock Cemetery, and on this ground, three annual fairs were held. At
these fairs, creditable exhibitions were made. The society ceased to exist after the
third fair.
On August 30, l876, another society was
organized with a perpetual charter, under the name of the Wyoming County Agricultural
Society. The society leased of S.J. Harding, for a fairground, twenty-one
acres in Eaton Township, about three-fourths of a mile from the borough of
Tunkhannock. This ground was at once enclosed and fitted up, and in the latter part
of October of the same year, a fair was held. The ground was improved upon and had a
sustaining interest year after year.
Wyoming County Bible
Society
This society, which had existed previously, was reorganized in l864, with Ira
Avery as president, Samuel Stark as secretary, Peter M. Osterhout as treasurer, and
S.S. Kennedy as agent. Statistical records report: sermons and addresses delivered,
54; families visited, l,400; families found destitute of the Bible, 64; destitute families
supplied by sale, 42; by gift, l6; prices of Bibles given to destitute, 9.60; Bibles sold,
227; Testaments sold, 300; total volumes distributed, 543; received for sale of books,
$568.60; collections, $211.48. A Bible depository was kept for the society by O.B.
Mills, in Tunkhannock.
Tunkhannock Township
Merchants
The first merchants were George Miller and John McCord, who owned a shad fishery and
barter trade. Mr. McCord died in Tunkhannock in about l8l3.
The Osterhout family seemed to have settled
here in l775. After Miller and McCord,, Isaac Osterhout and Elijah Barnum kept a
store in Tunkhannock until the death of Barnum. Osterhout married a daughter
of Dr.William Hooker Smith.
The next merchants were the Jewetts, John
Buckingham and Stephen, David, Thomas and Andrew King. From the close of the war in
l8l2, the Kings carried on an extensive shipment of lumber, shingles and staves by arks
and rafts to Baltimore for about seven years, the firm dissolving in l820.
Dr. Nathan Jackson, from Connecticut settled
in l797 on the mountain between Tunkhannock and Osterhout's and practiced medicine many
years. In l820, he moved to Wilkes Barre. His youngest son, Hon.. John
Jackson, lived on the old homestead where he was born and, for many years, was one
of Tunkhannock's leading citizens, and honored with the highest offices in the gift
of the people of Wyoming County.
Among the more prominent of the old
"proprietors" of Putnam, was Increase Billings who drew lot 23 on Tunkhannock
Creek and settled there. Ziba Billings, grandson of Samuel Billings, had been sheriff
of the county and was one of the proprietors of the Packer House in Tunkhannock.
Samuel Avery came from Connecticut to the
Wyoming Valley at an early date. His son, Cyrus, married Lydia, daughter of Zebulon
March. Solomon Avery was one of the first justices of the peace, and was also county
auditor and treasurer of Luzerne County. His son, Miles, settled in Falls Township,
and his son Cyrus died in l833, owner of the farm on which his father located.
Schools
One of the first schoolhouses in the township was built at La Grange in about
l8l4. Hiram Lusk taught the school in l8l5.
By l9l0, there were eight one-room schools in
the township. In l933, schools at Brookside, German Hill, LaGrange, Marcy, Prospect
Hill and Shupp Hill were closed, and the students were brought to the Gravel Hill
school. This school was located alongside the D.C. Harding home. This building
was demolished in l970 to make room for the road from Rt. 6 to the new high school.
During World War II , the students of
Tunkhannock Township were brought fully into the Tunkhannock jointure, thus also
eliminating the schools at Bardwell and Dixon. The Seventh Day Adventists Church had an
elementary school on the Stonier property (now Mountain View Terrace) and this school
closed in l99l.
Tunkhannock
Borough
(From an article written by Dorothy Colbenson)
Tunkhannock
Borough was organized in l841.
HOTELS
The American House
- l841
The Hufford House
- destroyed in the Great Fire of l870
Warren Street Hotel
- located on Warren Street where the parking lot of the Merchant's Bank is located today.
Keeler House -
l872, located where the Hufford House burned. Presently the site of the AM/PM Mini
Market.
The Packer House
- Opposite the railroad station, built by Billings and Reynolds. Quick lunches were
served to passengers on excursion trains that stopped for water for the engine.
Destroyed by fire in l900, rebuilt in l902, and burned again in l9l9 and never rebuilt.
The Stevens House and The
Wyoming House - Were built on Bridge Street, each was a saloon.
EARLY BUSINESSES
IN TUNKHANNOCK
Witch Hazel Plants
One was started in the canning factory by M. E. Hughes. The one on
Franklin Avenue started in l906 and burned in l936. Shortly after the death of
Hughes, Thomas F. McNulty and J. E. Johnson acquired the property. Hundreds of tons
of witch hazel brush were bought and manufactured into prime quality witch hazel
extract. Only two other witch hazel plants existed in the United States.
Foundry
Built on Warren St. (where Agway is now) by Cyrus Avery in l840. The second
foundry was built on the corner of West Tioga St. and Maple Ave. in l860.
Tannery
(l866-l931 ) built by Palen Brothers and supplied work for many men.
H.A. Mack Mills
The forerunner of the woolen mill, which is now the Gay's True Value
l09th Armory
Battery "B" of the l09th field artillery on West Street. The building
was leased, in the l940's, to the Endicott Johnson Shoe Co. The building is now owned by
Ace-Robbins Oil Co.
Chinese Laundries
In l891-92, Charles Sing, a Chinese man, operated a laundry on Bridge
St. In l895, a Chinese Laundry was opened across from the courthouse, and in l9ll,
Hing Lee operated a laundry at the Piatt Opera Block.
Atherholt Dairy
Opened its new location in the rear of the Atherolt residence on West Tioga St. in
l947. Milk was pasteurized, bottled, and sold from this six-roomed building.
Presently the site of the Endless Mountains Water Company.
Dietrich Theater
Marvin Sands and family operated both the Dietrich and Star-Lite Drive-In Theater,
first operated by Elmer Dietrich in l937.
Tunkhannock Locker Plant
Opened March l946 next to the Dietrich Theater. Owned by the Elmer
Dietrich Estate. The plant had the capacity for approximately l000 individual family
lockers and frozen food storage space for commercial uses.
SCHOOLS
The Harrison Street school building dates back
to its opening in l855. At one time, it was called the Sand Hill School.
By l871, it was evidently run down and in need of repairs and extensive renovations were
done. In l883, a major addition was added. The two-story primary school was
completed in l833 and, finally, in l902, the buildings were joined by the addition of
restrooms. This building was abandoned by January l97l.
The Gravel Hill School closed Dec. 31, l953
but was later used to house the kindergarten.
Tunkhannock Junior and Senior High School, on
Philadelphia Avenue, was constructed in l929. This building now houses the
Tunkhannock Area Middle School.
The William Skrynski Bldg. on Franklin Avenue
opened in l954, and the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grades were transferred here.
The Clifford Roslund Bldg. was opened in
l971.
Tunkhannock H.S. was completed in l971.
PIATT OPERA HOUSE
The Piatt Opera House was built in l873, by
William B. Piatt, on Bridge Street. The building consisted of three rooms on the
first floor, offices and town hall on the second floor, storage space on the third
floor. When this building burned in l929, it was replaced by one store building,
which now houses B&R Distributors, Inc.
The first moving picture ever exhibited in
Wyoming County was shown here. In l9l0, the price of admission to a motion picture
show was l0 cents for adults and 5 cents for children under l2 years of age. In the
gallery, the price was 5 cents for everyone.
METCALF MUSEUM
H.P. Metcalf constructed a two-story museum
on his property on Harrison St. The building was constructed of yellow brick,
matching the Metcalf's residence, with a colonial doorway, over which was reposed the
family coat of arms. Mr. Metcalf had the finest assemblage of antiques in
Pennsylvania, and he used the museum for their display.
An Indian collection was on display which was
of importance because all of the items were found in Wyoming County.
The museum closed in l950, and it became a
private home.
WYOMING COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Originally chartered in l946. During
the l950's, the organization became inactive. In l977, reorganization began and
since that date, the society has grown each year. In l980, the Historical Society
was granted a deed to the former Harrison Street School Building from the school district,
with the stipulation that should the society ever cease to exist, the building would
revert back to the school district.
In the fall of l980, renovations began, and
in May l981, the first room was completed. This room housed both the museum and
library. By l982, the office and another room were completed, so that the library
and museum could be separated.
In l984, the society was able to purchase
some of the items that had formerly been in the Metcalf Museum, including an extensive
Wyoming County newspaper collection dated from l841-l907. These papers were
microfilmed to further preserve their historical value.
In l986, the local DAR Tunkhannock Chapter
was able to move into the first floor room. Renovations were started in l987 to
renovate the outside of the building. Renovations of the entire building were
completed in l992. The society building now contains six museum rooms, two
genealogical library rooms and office, along with the DAR Room and the Tunkhannock Nursery
School. Society hours are all year, Wed. l0-4, and summer hours include Tuesday,
Wednesday and Saturday, l0-4.
THE WYOMING
COUNTY FAIR
The first Wyoming County Fair was held prior
to l863 on a small piece of property in Tunkhannock, between West Tioga Street and the
bluff overlooking the Susquehanna River. The parcel of land is thought to be
included in the current graveyard. After only a couple of years in operation, the
fair was halted. It started up again, only to be abandoned probably in l868.
The fair moved to new grounds across the river in Eaton Township, and was back in
operation in l876. The fair operated continuously through l942, except for a year
when the river bridge was out, sometime between l876 and l913.
In the 44-year period before the renewal in
l986, the fair property was sold to a private business. A committee of the
Tunkhannock Kiwanis Club formed to bring back the fair. It was then located on Rt.
92, south of the borough, in Tunkhannock Township. Most services were donated or
volunteered. The Fair Board soon realized that more land and the construction of
permanent facilities would be necessary if the fair was to continue to expand. The
fair is now located on the site of a former 231-acre farm in Meshoppen Township on Rt. 6.
WYOMING COUNTY
NEWSPAPERS THROUGH THE YEARS
- Luzerne Democrat and Farmer's and Mechanic
Journal - l841
- Wyoming Patrol and Republican Standard -
l843-l849
- Wyoming County Democrat - l849-l854
- Wyoming County Record - l844-l845
- Wyoming County Whig - l849-l852
- North Branch Democrat - l854-l867
- Wyoming Democrat - l867-l907
- Wyoming Intelligencer - l861
- Wyoming Republican - l860-l867
- Tunkhannock Republican - l869-l904
- New Age - l882-l904
- Tunkhannock Republican and New Age - l904-l979
- The New Age Examiner - l979 and still being
published
- Nicholson Examiner - l871-l877
- Laceyville Messenger
- Meshoppen Enterprise
- Nicholson Record
- Noxen Vandette
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