Freeland is a
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
in
Luzerne County
Luzerne County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeaste ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
, United States. It was originally called Birbeckville, South Heberton, and Freehold. Freeland is south of
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...
and northeast of
Hazleton. It was incorporated as a borough on September 11, 1876.
Coal mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
was the chief industry in the community through the mid-20th century. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,833.
History
Establishment
Joseph Birkbeck, the founder of Freeland, was born near
Brough, in the county of
Westmorland
Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, on May 2, 1802. He and his wife Elizabeth came to America in 1844. After acquiring land from Edward Lynch the same year of his arrival, Birkbeck built a
log cabin
A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...
in a small valley between modern-day Freeland and Upper Lehigh. The next settler, Nathan Howey, purchased land from Birkbeck and built a frame house just west of Birkbeck's log cabin.
Coal mining
Developing
coal mine
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...
s in the nearby region created a steep increase in population and a demand for building lots. This led Birkbeck to survey the region for the town of South Heberton. South Heberton has long since lost its identity and is now simply a cluster of houses along Schwabe Street, which is now part of Freeland.
Between 1845 and 1846, Birkbeck built a highway through South Heberton,
Eckley Miners' Village, and Buck Mountain; it was known as Buck Mountain Road. Eckley was then known as Shingletown, as the chief industry there was the production of
shingles
Shingles, also known as herpes zoster or zona, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. T ...
.
The first child born at South Heberton was Elizabeth Birkbeck, the daughter of founder Joseph Birkbeck and his wife Elizabeth, in 1845. The first death at this place was that of William, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Birkbeck, which occurred February 11, 1846. He was four years old at the time. The first
store at South Heberton was owned by a man named Feist. It was located west of Birkbeck's cabin. The first
tavern
A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...
was founded by Nathan Howey, the second settler in the region. Prior to the opening of Howey's tavern, Birkbeck accommodated parties, who were prospecting for anthracite deposits, in his own home.
Incorporation
Freehold and South Heberton merged to create modern-day Freeland. Freeland was incorporated as a borough on September 11, 1876. Two years later, in 1878, a frame
school
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
was built in the town. By 1880, the population of the community surpassed 600. In 1883, the first
Slovak Lutheran Church in America was organized in Freeland. The population steadily increased due to the expanding coal mining industry in the region. Many Europeans immigrated to Freeland up until the mid-20th century.
Present day

The coal mining industry in and around Freeland collapsed after the 1959
Knox Mine Disaster in northern Luzerne County. As of 2017, Freeland had a
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
program, a community park, the Hazleton Area Public Library (Freeland Branch), and a remodeled
Little League field. Also, there is a football/baseball field named "Della Croce Field," after the former Director of the Freeland YMCA.
Customs
Since a large demographic of people in Freeland are of
Irish descent, every year, there is a
St. Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.
Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...
parade through downtown, which is followed by a dinner. There are also annual events for
Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May.
It i ...
and
Veterans Day
Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with holidays in several countries, i ...
, due to the large number of retired and active duty soldiers living in the surrounding communities. As part of the Memorial Day celebration, an annual Pub Run takes place, in which participants run a course with
bars along the way. Participants must stop and finish a drink at each bar before continuing the race. The race usually consists of nine bars throughout the borough, as well as some that do not technically fall within the municipal entity.
Geography
Freeland is located south of Wilkes-Barre and northeast of Hazleton (in an agricultural region).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the borough has a total area of , all land.
Foster Township completely encircles the borough.
Pennsylvania Route 940 runs through Freeland; it provides a direct link to Hazleton and
White Haven. The closest airport is
Hazleton Regional Airport, which is a public
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
two miles northwest of Hazleton City.
Climate
The
Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
subtype for this climate is "
Dfb" (Warm Summer Continental Climate).
Government
The borough government consists of a
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
and a seven-member
borough council
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
. The current mayor of Freeland is Joseph Palko Sr.
Education
Freeland is part of the
Hazleton Area School District
Hazleton Area School District is a large, rural public school district in Pennsylvania, stretching across portions of Luzerne, Schuylkill, and Carbon Counties. Its headquarters are in Hazle Township. Students in grade nine through 12 attend H ...
. Elementary and middle school students attend Freeland Elementary/Middle School.
MMI Preparatory School, a
college preparatory school
A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...
for grades 6–12, is also located in Freeland.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 3,531 people living in the borough, a decrease of 3.3% since the 2000 census. There were 1,760 housing units. The racial makeup of the borough was 95.78%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.59%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.11%
Native American, 0.54%
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants).
Although this term had historically been used fo ...
, 1.53% from other races, and 1.44%
mixed race
The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more
races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...
.
Hispanic or Latino Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spaniards, Spanish or Latin Americans, Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino (demonym), ...
of any race were 5.81% of the population.
The main ancestries reported by white Freeland residents on the 2000 Census were
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
(17.5%),
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
(13.0%),
Irish (12.3%),
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
(7.7%), and
Slovak (6.6%).
There were 1,611 households, as of the 2000 Census, out of which 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% were non-families. 37.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size in 2000 was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.96.
As of the 2010 Census, the population was spread out, with 23.22% under the age of 18, 5.83% from 20 to 24, 12.55% from 25 to 34, 19.12% from 35 to 49, 18.38% from 50 to 64, and 18.75% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age in 2000 was 42 years. As of 2010, for every 100 females there were 92.95 males. In 2000, for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.
According to the Census of 2000, the median income for a household in the borough was $31,891, and the median income for a family was $40,863. Males had a median income of $31,631 versus $21,471 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the borough was $15,701. About 11.3% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 18.6% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.
Notable person
*
Basil Schott
Basil Myron Schott (September 21, 1939 – June 10, 2010) was the Archbishop of the Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh from 2002 until his death.
The youngest son of Michael Schott and Mary Schott (née Krusko), Basil Schott was born i ...
, Byzantine Catholic bishop
* Raymond E. Schultz, founder of
Hampton Inn hotels and former CEO of
Promus Hotel Corporation
Promus Hotel Corporation was a hotel owner, management, and franchise company based in Memphis, Tennessee. Spun off from the Holiday Corp. in December 1989 as Promus Companies, the company became Promus Hotel Corporation in 1995 after the firm's ...
[https://www.timesleader.com/archive/845199/ex-freeland-man-donates-400000-for-students-raymond-schultz-and-his-wife-erin-give-money-to-penn-state-to-help-needy-students]
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Populated places established in 1844
Municipalities of the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania
Boroughs in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
1876 establishments in Pennsylvania