Hazleton is a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
in
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
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 ...
, United States. The population was 29,963 at the
2020 census. Hazleton is the second-most populous city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as 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
...
on January 5, 1857, and as a
city
A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
on December 4, 1891.
Hazleton is located in
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA or Nepa) is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton (the area's largest city), Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Ha ...
, northwest of
Allentown Allentown may refer to:
Places
* Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California
* Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia
* Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County
* Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...
, north-northwest of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
and west of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
History
During the early years of
European colonization in the Americas, the area which today makes up the city of Hazleton sat at the intersection of two Native American trails.
The Nanticoke path was used by the
Nanticoke people
The Nanticoke people are a Native American Algonquian-speaking people, whose traditional homelands are in Chesapeake Bay area, including Delaware. Today they continue to live in the Northeastern United States, especially Delaware, and in Okl ...
during their migration to and settlement of the
Wyoming Valley
The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan ar ...
, east of Wilkes-Barre.
The Nescopeck path ran from the forks of the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...
, to the
Nescopeck Creek. It was used by traders and
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...
,
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
war parties, and
settler
A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...
s.
Sugarloaf massacre
During the height of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
, in the summer of 1780, British sympathizers (known as
Tories) began attacking the outposts of American revolutionaries located along the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
in the Wyoming Valley. Because of reports of Tory activity in the region, Captain Daniel Klader and a
platoon
A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...
of 41 men from
Northampton County were sent to investigate. They traveled north from the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
along a path known as "Warrior's Trail" (which is present-day
Pennsylvania Route 93). This route connects the
Lehigh River
The Lehigh River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward ...
in
Jim Thorpe
James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...
(formerly known as Mauch Chunk) to the
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
in
Berwick.
Captain Klader's men made it as far north as present-day
Conyngham, when they were ambushed by Tory militiamen and members of the
Seneca tribe
The Seneca ( ; ) are a group of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking people who historically lived south of Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes in North America. Their nation was the farthe ...
. In all, 15 men were killed on September 11, 1780, in what is now known as the
Sugarloaf massacre.
The
Moravians
Moravians ( or Colloquialism, colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech language, Czech or Czech language#Common Czech, Common ...
, a
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
denomination, had been using "Warrior's Trail" since the early 18th century after the Moravian
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf
Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major f ...
first used it to reach the Wyoming Valley. This particular stretch of "Warrior's Trail" had an abundance of
hazel
Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...
trees. Though the Moravians called the region "St. Anthony's Wilderness", it eventually became known as "Hazle Swamp", a name which had been used previously by the
Native Americans. The Moravian missionaries were sent from their settlements in Bethlehem to the site of the Sugarloaf Massacre to bury the dead soldiers. Some Moravians decided to stay, and in 1782, they built a settlement (St. Johns) along the Nescopeck Creek, which is near the present-day intersection of
Interstates 80 and
81.
Jacob Drumheller
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Warrior's Trail was revamped and widened. It was renamed the Berwick Turnpike. Later, a road was built to connect
Wilkes-Barre to
McKeansburg. This road intersected with the Berwick Turnpike. An
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones.
An entreprene ...
named Jacob Drumheller decided that this intersection was the perfect location for a
rest stop
A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, Limited-access road, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names ...
, so in 1809, he built the first building in what would later be known as Hazleton. Though a few buildings and houses were erected nearby, the area remained a dense wilderness for nearly 20 years. At the time, the area offered little more than small-scale
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucks[anthracite coal
Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the highe ...]
deposits were discovered in nearby
Beaver Meadows by prospectors Nathaniel Beach and
Tench Coxe
Tench Coxe (May 22, 1755July 17, 1824) was an American political economist and a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress in 1788–1789. He wrote under the pseudonym "A Pennsylvanian," and was known to his political enemies as ...
. This caught the attention of railroad developers in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. A young engineer from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
named
Ariovistus "Ario" Pardee was hired to survey the
topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps.
Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...
of
Beaver Meadows and report the practicality of extending a railroad from the
Lehigh Canal
The Lehigh Canal is a navigable canal that begins at the mouth of Nesquehoning Creek on the Lehigh River in the Lehigh Valley and Northeastern regions of Pennsylvania. It was built in two sections over a span of 20 years beginning in 1818. Th ...
in
Jim Thorpe
James Francis Thorpe (; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional American football, football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was ...
to Beaver Meadows. Knowing that the area of Beaver Meadows was already controlled by Coxe and Beach, Pardee bought many acres of the land in present-day Hazleton. The investment proved to be lucrative. The land contained part of a massive
anthracite
Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...
coal field. Pardee is known as the founding father of Hazleton because of these contributions and initially laying out the patch town that eventually became Hazleton.
Pardee incorporated the Hazleton Coal Company in 1836, the same year the rail link to the
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...
market was on the brink of being completed. Hazleton Coal Company built the first school on Church Street, where Hazleton City Hall is now located. Pardee also built the first church in Hazleton, located at the intersection of Church and Broad Streets, and the first private school in Hazleton, located on the south side of Broad Street between Wyoming and Laurel Streets.
Pardee died in 1892. The following year, in 1893, his son, Israel Platt Pardee, built a three-story, 19-room
mansion
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...
in Hazleton; it was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1984.
The
anthracite coal
Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the highe ...
industry attracted many immigrants for labor. The first wave, in the 1840s and 1850s, consisted mostly of German and Irish immigrants. The second wave, from the 1860s to the 1920s, consisted mostly of Italian, Polish, Russian, Lithuanian, Slovak, and Montenegrin immigrants. The coal mined in Hazleton helped establish the United States as a world industrial power, including fueling the massive
blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being supplied above atmospheric pressure.
In a ...
s at
Bethlehem Steel
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...
.
Incorporation
Hazleton was incorporated as 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
...
on January 5, 1857. A persistent story purporting that the borough's name was intended to be "Hazelton" but was misspelled by a clerk during its incorporation is most likely an urban legend. The name was spelled with "le" rather than "el" in the earliest references to the Hazleton Coal Co. (1836) and to the town itself. Perhaps the earliest map showing Hazleton (with the "le" spelling) was published in 1843 by Sydney E. Morse & Co. The borough's first
fire company, the Pioneer Fire Company, was organized in 1867 by soldiers returning home from the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
Many small
company town
A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...
s, often referred to by locals as "patch towns" or "patches", surrounded Hazleton. They were built by coal companies to provide housing for the miners and their families. The following is a list of "patch towns" constructed in and around Hazleton:
*
Beaver Meadows, coal was discovered here
* Stockton, founded by John Stockton
* Jeansville, founded by James Milens
* Milnesville, founded by James Milens
*
Tresckow, formerly known as Dutchtown
* Junedale, formerly known as Colraine
*
Freeland, originally called Freehold (founded by Joseph Birkbeck in 1846)
*
McAdoo, originally called Pleasant Hill, then Saylors Hill
*
West Hazleton, founded by Conrad Horn
*
Eckley, founded by
Eckley B. Coxe
*
Jeddo, named after a Japanese port to which coal was exported by the Hazleton Coal Company
*
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
, part of Hazleton, named before
Hollywood, California
Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...
*
Weatherly, a small borough outside of Hazleton
*
Humboldt Village, a tiny village outside of Hazleton
Prosperity and tragedy
As industry and commerce developed, so did the footprint of organized labor. Nineteenth century attempts by the
United Mine Workers of America
The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...
(UMWA) to organize in the anthracite region were largely unsuccessful.
On September 10, 1897, after several weeks of escalating walkouts and strikes at surrounding mines, the
Lattimer Massacre occurred when 300-400 strikers near Hazleton marched to the Lattimer Mine to support a newly formed UMW local. Nineteen unarmed
striking miners, mostly of
Polish,
Slovak,
Lithuanian, and
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 ...
ethnicity, were shot and killed in a confrontation with the Luzerne County sheriff's
posse.
[Anderson, John W. ''Transitions: From Eastern Europe to Anthracite Community to College Classroom.'' Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, 2005; ][Miller, Randall M. and Pencak, William. ''Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth.'' State College, Penn.: Penn State Press, 2003; ] Scores more were wounded.
[Estimates of the number of wounded are inexact. They range from a low of 17 wounded (Duwe, Grant. ''Mass Murder in the United States: A History''. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2007; ) to as many as 49 injured (DeLeon, Clark. ''Pennsylvania Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff.'' 3rd rev. ed. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot, 2008; ). Other estimates include 30 wounded (Lewis, Ronald L. ''Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coalfields.'' Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2008; ), 32 wounded (Anderson, ''Transitions: From Eastern Europe to Anthracite Community to College Classroom,'' 2005; Berger, Stefan; Croll, Andy; and Laporte, Norman. ''Towards A Comparative History of Coalfield Societies.'' Aldershot, Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2005; ; Campion, Joan. ''Smokestacks and Black Diamonds: A History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania''. Easton, Penn.: Canal History and Technology Press, 1997; ), 35 wounded (Foner, Philip S. ''First Facts of American Labor: A Comprehensive Collection of Labor Firsts in the United States.'' New York: Holmes & Meier, 1984; ; Miller and Pencak, ''Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth,'' 2003; Derks, Scott. ''Working Americans, 1880–2006: Volume VII: Social Movements.'' Amenia, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2006; ), 38 wounded (Weir, Robert E. and Hanlan, James P. ''Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor, Vol. 1.'' Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Press, 2004; ), 39 wounded (]Long, Priscilla
Priscilla Long (born 1943) is an American writer, poet, and political activist. She co-founded a Boston consciousness raising group that contributed to Bread and Roses. A longtime anti-war activist,
Long was arrested in the 1963 Gwynn Oak P ...
. '' Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America's Bloody Coal Industry.'' Minneapolis: Paragon House, 1989; ; Novak, Michael. ''The Guns of Lattimer.'' Reprint ed. New York: Transaction Publishers, 1996; ), and 40 wounded (Beers, Paul B. ''The Pennsylvania Sampler: A Biography of the Keystone State and Its People''. Mechanicsburg, Penn.: Stackpole Books, 1970). The
massacre
A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...
was a turning point in the history of the UMW, with over 10,000 new members signing cards in its aftermath. However, the UMW would not be able to capitalize on this momentum and obtain union recognition in the Leigh Valley until the 20th century.
[Blatz, Perry K. ''Democratic Miners: Work and Labor Relations in the Anthracite Coal Industry, 1875–1925.'' Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1994 ]
Hazleton was also struck by several mining disasters. Notable among these were the cave-ins at
Sheppton, Jeanesville, and Stockton.
Mining disasters were not the only tragedies. In October 1888, a train crash killed 66 people near
Mud Run when one passenger train crashed into the rear of another train on their way to White Haven. It was one of the worst train wrecks recorded in United States history.
In 1891, Hazleton became the third city in the United States to establish a citywide electric grid. Hazleton was incorporated as a city on December 4, 1891. At the time, the population was estimated to be around 14,000 people.
In the second half of the 19th century, middle class professionals whose industries serviced the mining economy led an effort to diversify the economy in Hazleton and attract large scale manufacturing employers, who could hire from the area's large pool of unemployed women. The local improvement associations who led this initiative were successful in attracting a number of firms, including several mills and a brewery. The Duplan
Silk
Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
Corporation opened in Hazleton in 1899, with financial support from local banks, the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and $10,000 from a fundraising drive.
20th and 21st centuries
Leading into the 20th century, Hazleton's population drastically changed. The "boom period" in population was 1885 to 1920. In 1860, there were only about one thousand people in Hazleton, but by 1880, there were nearly seven thousand people, which quickly became thirty-two thousand by 1920. After the
1900 and 1902 anthracite coal strikes, mine workers won some improvements to their working conditions, which they were able to build upon in ensuing contracts. The diversification of the city's economy stabilized the population by allowing miners to establish families in the area, with women and children often working in silk or shirt manufacturing for supplemental wages.
The Duplan Silk Mill was expanded in 1908 and became one of the largest and most productive silk mills in the country, employing between 1,800 and 2,000 area residents and with an annual payroll of $5 million. The mill produced about 25 million yards of cloth per year.
In 1913, 1,200 silk workers, mostly young women, went on strike at the Duplan silk mill and voted to join the
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...
. The strike was overshadowed by the contemporaneous
Patterson Silk Strike, and failed to achieve momentum.
The first Hazleton Public Library opened in 1907. In 1912, a new library opened on Church and Green streets. This building was donated by independent coal operator John Markle and is still in use today as the Hazleton Area Public Library's children's department.
Coal production began to decline in the late 1920s, but the mining industry still employed nearly 20,000 men at that time.
In 1926, 900 miners at the Jeddo-Highland Coal Company initiated a
wildcat strike
A wildcat strike is a strike action undertaken by unionised workers without union leadership's authorization, support, or approval; this is sometimes termed an unofficial industrial action. The legality of wildcat strikes varies between countries ...
over a pay dispute. They were ordered back to work by the District 7 president of the UMWA, who insisted that they negotiate the dispute through the
Anthracite Board of Conciliation as outlined in their contract.
The population peaked in 1940 at 38,000. With increased population came increased business, from downtown storefronts to large campuses like Penn State Hazleton.
In 1941, UMWA President
John L. Lewis
John Llewellyn Lewis (February 12, 1880 – June 11, 1969) was an American leader of Labor unions in the United States, organized labor who served as president of the United Mine Workers, United Mine Workers of America (UMW) from 1920 to 1960. ...
revoked the charter of the UMWA's District 7 local in response to a 27-day work stoppage by 20,000 miners in protest of dues increases and other union policies. The local was administered by a provisional government for some time and had its constitution suspended.
One of the 14 games between
I.A. Horowitz and
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid 1930s to the late 1 ...
during the 1941
US Chess Championship was held in Hazleton. The result was a draw. The remaining games were held in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, Philadelphia,
Lakewood, New Jersey and
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the c ...
.
In 1946, local milk producers initiated a
capital strike
Capital strike is the practice of businesses withholding any form of new investment in an economy, in order to attain some form of favorable policy. Capital strikes may arise from the determination that return on investment may be low or nonexisten ...
, closing facilities and halting the delivery of milk to 100,000 residents in the region in protest of
Office of Price Administration
The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money ( price con ...
policy.
Before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, anthracite coal flourished as a major provider of fuel for the nation. After the war, the demand for coal began to decline as natural gas and electricity became preferred power sources; coal became a less needed commodity. Deep mining, the predominant method of coal extraction in the region, also proved costly and vulnerable to flooding. In 1947, 22 consecutive days of rain flooded many Hazleton area mines and reduced year-to-date anthracite production by up to 35% below normal levels.
Hurricanes
Hazel
Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...
and
Diane, in 1954 and 1955, also devastated the local mining industry. They flooded the mines and brought an end to Hazleton's deep mining. Unemployment soared, reaching 25-30%. The population began to emigrate at a rate of 1,000 per year.
While most of the region's deep mines never reopened, strip mining would continue as long as it was economically advantageous. A new era was about to be born: the era of business and industry.
The garment industry thrived and was invested in by New York
mobster
A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...
Albert Anastasia.
In 1947,
Autolite
Autolite or Auto–Lite is an American brand of spark plugs and ignition wire sets headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Autolite products are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Until 2011, the Autolite brand was a part of ...
Corporation was looking to expand operations in the
East
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
and had been looking into Hazleton. Officials from Autolite came to the area and surveyed the land. In their report, they noted that Hazleton was a "mountain wilderness" with no major water route, rail route, trucking route, or airport.
Local leaders sought to address these deficiencies by soliciting donations from the public to subsidize the establishment of the $3,500,000 Autolite plant. They promised the Autolite Corporation $500,000 and were able to raise $659,000. The initiative was supported by local businessmen, service clubs, and the UMWA. The Hazleton Industrial Development Corporation also took out loans totaling $700,000 to fund the construction of the plant.
In 1959, a fire at the Gary Hotel killed six people. The hotel, built in 1884, burned down costing around $200,000 in damages.
Public investment in attracting businesses and diversifying the economy continued throughout the 20th century. CAN DO (Community Area New Development Organization) was formally organized in 1956 by founder Dr.
Edgar L. Dessen. CAN DO raised money through their "Dime A Week" campaign, in which area residents were encouraged to put a dime on their sidewalk each week to be collected by CAN DO. They also solicited donations from businesses and utilities and sold
municipal bond
A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal bonds is often ...
s. The company raised over $250,000 and was able to purchase over of land, which was converted into an industrial park on the western edge of the city.
Because of CAN-DO's efforts, Hazleton was given the
All-America City Award
The All-America City Award is a community recognition program in the United States given by the National Civic League. The award recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stron ...
in 1964. Hazleton's economy is now based largely on manufacturing and shipping, facilitated by the relative closeness to
Interstates 80 and
81. Five
Pennsylvania highways also pass through the Hazleton area:
Pennsylvania Route 309,
Pennsylvania Route 93,
Pennsylvania Route 924
Pennsylvania Route 924 (PA 924) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from Pennsylvania Route 61, PA 61 in Frackville, Pennsylvania, Frackville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuylkill County, northeast to ...
,
Pennsylvania Route 424, and
Pennsylvania Route 940.
The Hazleton Area Public Library opened a new building at Church and Maple Streets in 1969, where it remains to this day.
In 1997, the IWW returned to the Hazleton area in an effort to organize student workers at the Keystone Job Corps Center, but they found little success.
An article published in December 2002 by ''
U.S. News & World Report'', "Letter from Pennsylvania: A town in need of a tomorrow", reported on Hazleton's shortcomings. It was criticized by local politicians and business leaders.
On September 11, 2004, the Hazleton campaign hall of the
Socialist Workers Party was firebombed, damaging the front of the building and burning campaign literature. The building's books were destroyed by smoke damage. A rally held in response to the attack was attended by the Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs as well as local religious leaders and the Spanish-language media. An executive from the
IBEW local 1319 in Wilkes-Barre visited the hall and made a contribution to the rebuilding effort.
Second immigration wave
The city experienced a demographic shift in the first years of the 21st century with the arrival of new immigrants: mostly from the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...
.
The demographic shift was not well received by all residents. In 2004, a wave of attacks against apartments where immigrant workers were living was condemned by the Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs.
In 2006, Hazleton gained national attention as
Republican Mayor
Lou Barletta and council members passed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act. This
ordinance was instituted to discourage hiring or renting to illegal immigrants. Initially, the ordinance levied an administrative fine of $100.00 per illegal immigrant rented to and a loss of permits for non-compliance. Another act passed concurrently made English the
official language
An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...
of Hazleton.
Mayor Barletta estimated that "as many as half" of the estimated 10,000 Hispanics who were living in Hazleton left the city when the ordinance was passed.
The issue was covered by the television program ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...
'' in 2006 and the
Fox News
The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
show ''
The O'Reilly Factor
''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...
'' in March 2007.
The ordinance was criticized as illegal and
unconstitutional
In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...
. A number of residents (landlords, business owners, lawful aliens defined as illegal under the act, and unlawful aliens) filed suit to strike down the law, claiming it violates the
Supremacy Clause
The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution of the United States ( Article VI, Clause 2) establishes that the Constitution, federal laws made pursuant to it, and treaties made under its authority, constitute the "supreme Law of the Land", and th ...
of the
U.S. Constitution as well as the
First and
Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. After a trial and several appeals (including a
remand from the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
), the
Third Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (in case citations, 3d Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts for the following districts:
* District of Delaware
* District of New Jersey
* Eas ...
found the ordinance invalid due to
federal preemption
In the law of the United States, federal preemption is the invalidation of a U.S. state law that conflicts with federal law. The rules of preemption seek to restrict it to only where it is explicit or necessary. In the course of adjudicating ...
.
As of 2015, nearly 40 percent of Hazleton's population was of Hispanic or Latino descent. In 2012, Amilcar Arroyo, a Hazleton Integration Project board member, estimated that 80% of Hazleton's Hispanics and Latinos were of
Dominican origin, and that many of them had ancestry from
San José de Ocoa
San José de Ocoa, or simply Ocoa, is the capital of San José de Ocoa Province, San José de Ocoa province in the Dominican Republic. It is located in a valley in the southern region of the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic, Central Cordiller ...
.
[ Hazleton has the highest percentage of Dominicans in Pennsylvania and the fourth highest in the nation. Many Dominicans had moved to Hazleton from portions of ]New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, including The Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
and Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
) and parts of North Jersey
North Jersey, also known as Northern New Jersey, comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. As a distinct toponym, North Jersey is a colloquial one rather than an a ...
, such as Newark and Paterson.[ Many of these migrants had families that were relatively large.
Many Hispanic and Latino businesses are on Wyoming Street,][ the linguistic landscape of which Spier and Ruano (2021) investigated in light of Barletta's aforementioned comments. In 2016, '']The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' reported that the Wyoming Street corridor was revived from a moribund state. Also, in 2016, the Hispanic and Latino population became the majority, at 52%, with White residents, many descended from Irish, 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 ...
, and 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 ...
immigrants, comprising 44% of the population.
Geography
Hazleton is located at (40.958834, −75.974546). According to the U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the city has a total area of , all land. Hazleton is located north of Tamaqua and south of Scranton
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 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
/ Wilkes-Barre. The city is located in Pennsylvania's ridge and valley section (on a plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
named Spring Mountain). Hazleton's highest elevation is above sea level, making it one of the highest incorporated cities east of the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
and the highest incorporated city in Pennsylvania. It straddles the divide between the Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...
and Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
watersheds.
Greater Hazleton
Hazleton and its surrounding communities are collectively known as Greater Hazleton. Greater Hazleton encompasses an area located within three counties: southern 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 ...
, northern Schuylkill County, and northern Carbon County. The population of Greater Hazleton was 77,187[Population](_blank)
at the 2010 census. Greater Hazleton includes the City of Hazleton; the boroughs of Beaver Meadows, Conyngham, Freeland, Jeddo, McAdoo, Weatherly, West Hazleton, White Haven; the townships of Black Creek, Butler
A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...
, East Union, Kline, Foster
Foster may refer to:
People
* Foster (surname)
* Foster Brooks (1912–2001), American actor
* Foster Moreau (born 1997), American football player
* Foster Sarell (born 1998), American football player
* John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), America ...
, Hazle, Rush, Sugarloaf
A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, ...
; and the towns, villages, or CDPs of Audenried, Coxes Villages, Drifton, Drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
, Ebervale, Eckley, Fern Glen, Haddock, Harleigh, Harwood Mines, Hazle Brook, Highland, Hollywood, Hometown, Hudsondale, Humboldt Village, Humboldt Industrial Park, Japan, Jeansville, Junedale, Kelayres, Kis-Lyn, Lattimer, Milnesville, Nuremberg, Oneida, Pardeesville, Quakake, St. Johns, Sandy Run, Still Creek, Stockton, Sybertsville, Ringtown, Sheppton, Tomhicken, Tresckow, Upper Lehigh, Weston, and Zion Grove.
Climate
According to 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 ...
system, Hazleton has a warm-summer humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(''Dfb''). The average annual snowfall total is . Hazleton averages of rain annually. The hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...
is 6b.
Demographics
2020 census
2010 census
As of the 2010 census, the racial makeup of the city was 69.4% White (59.0% non-Hispanic/Latino white), 4.0% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.8% Asian, and 22.0% from other races, and 3.4% were multiracial. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 37.3% of the population. Almost all of the population growth in Hazleton (from 2000 to 2010) consisted of Hispanics and Latinos.[Frantz, Jeff.]
Not all in Hazleton convinced old town, new immigrants can co-exist happily
" Pennlive. June 10, 2012. Retrieved on July 17, 2016.
There were 23,340 people, 9,798 households, with 6,162 of these being family households. The population density was . There were 9,409 housing units, at an average density of .
There were 9,798 households, out of which 22.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 19.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.1% were non-family households. 21.9% were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.
Economy
Hazleton's major mining and garment industries have disappeared over the past 50 years. Through the efforts of CANDO and a practical highway infrastructure, Hazle Township's Humboldt Industrial Park has become home to many industries. Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
, American Eagle Outfitters
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer headquartered at SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by brothers Jerry and Mark Silverman as a subsidiary of Retail Ventures, Inc ...
, Hershey Hershey may refer to:
People
* Hershey (name), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname
Places
* Hershey, Nebraska, a village
* Hershey, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community, home to the chocolate company
* Hershey, Cuba ...
, Office Max, Simmons Bedding Company
The Simmons Bedding Company is an American major manufacturer of mattresses and related bedding products, based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The company was founded in 1870. Simmons' flagship brand is ''Beautyrest''. In addition to ...
, Michaels
Michaels Stores, Inc., doing business as Michaels, is an American privately held arts and crafts retail chain. It is North America's largest provider of arts, crafts, framing, floral and wall décor, and merchandise for makers and do-it-yourse ...
, Network Solutions
Network Solutions, LLC, formerly Web.com, is an American-based technology company and a subsidiary of Web.com, the 4th-largest .com domain name registrar, with over 6.7 million registrations as of August 2018. In addition to being a domain name ...
, AutoZone, General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...
, Steelcase
Steelcase Inc. is an international manufacturer of furniture, casegoods, seating, and storage and partitioning systems for offices, hospitals, classrooms, and residential interiors. It is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. ...
, WEIR Minerals, EB Brands and Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...
are just some of the large companies with distribution, manufacturing, or logistic operations in Hazleton.
In 2010, 6.7% of residents had an income below the poverty level, as compared to a statewide average of 12.5%.
Arts and culture
Regional parks and outdoor entertainment
* Altmiller Playground
* Eagle Rock Resort (private)
* Edgewood In The Pines Golf Course
* Greater Hazleton Rails To Trails
* Hazle Township Community Park & Soccer Fields
* Hickory Run State Park
* Lehigh Gorge State Park
* Memorial Park
Organizations and historic locations
* Altamont Hotel
* Duplan Silk Building
* Eckley Miners' Village
* St. Gabriel's Catholic Parish Complex
* Hazleton Cemetery (the Vine Street Cemetery)
* Hazleton National Bank
* Israel Platt Pardee Mansion
* Markle Banking & Trust Company Building
* Lattimer Massacre, which began at State Route 924 near Harwood
* MPB Community Players
* Nuremberg Community Players
* Pennsylvania Theatre of Performing Arts (PTPA)
* Saint Joseph Slovak Roman Catholic Church
* Traders Bank Building
Annual festivals
Hazleton's annual street festival, Funfest, is celebrated usually during the second weekend of September. The festival includes a craft show, a car show, entertainment from local bands, and many games of chance. The Funfest parade is held on Sunday (during the Funfest weekend). Valley Day is celebrated in Conyngham during the first weekend of August. Many church festivals are celebrated to preserve the Italian heritage of Hazleton. This would include the Festival of the Madonna del Monte at Most Precious Blood Roman Catholic Church (in Hazleton).
Sports
Hazleton was a long-time home to minor league baseball
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
. On April 14, 1934, the Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
entered into an affiliation agreement with the New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
Hazleton Mountaineers. This was the first ever minor league affiliation for the Phillies. The last minor-league club to play in Hazleton was the Hazleton Dodgers in 1950, a Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...
farm-club which played in the Class D North Atlantic League.
Hazleton was also home to four franchises in the old Eastern Basketball League, precursor to the Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...
: the Hazleton Mountaineers (1946–48, 1951–52), Hazleton Hawks (1953–62), Hazleton Bits (1971–72), and Hazleton Bullets (1972–77). Despite advancing to the EBL championship finals on four separate occasions, Hazleton teams were never able to capture a league championship.
Penn State Hazleton
Penn State Hazleton is a commonwealth campus of the Pennsylvania State University located in Sugarloaf Township, Pennsylvania. It has an enrollment of 426 students as of 2021.
History
Penn State Hazleton's origins trace back to 1934 during ...
sponsors 8 varsity teams that compete at the intercollegiate level in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association
The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) is a national organization for the intercollegiate athletic programs of 72 mostly small colleges, including community/junior colleges, across the United States. The USCAA holds 15 national ...
and Penn State University Athletic Conference. Penn State is home to baseball, men's and women's basketball, softball, men's golf, men's and women's soccer, and women's volleyball. All teams play their games at the Athletic Center on campus, with the exceptions of baseball, which plays at Hazle Township Community Ballpark, and softball, which plays in Drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
. The golf team plays at surrounding courses in the Northeast region.
Media
Newspapers
* ''Standard-Speaker''
* ''Latino News''
* ''El Mensajero'' (serves as one of the Hispanic/Latino newspapers in Hazleton)
Radio
* WGMA 1490 AM
Television
* Sam-Son Productions (public-access television
Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...
)
* WYLN-35
Education
The first school was built in the 1830s by the Hazleton Coal Company. It was a private elementary school at the corner of Church and Green Streets (the present-day site of Hazleton City Hall). Hazleton High School (the first high school) was built in 1875 at the corner of Pine and Hemlock Streets (the present-day site of the Pine Street Playground). Bishop Hafey High School was Hazleton's only Roman Catholic High School; it was owned by the Diocese of Scranton. It was opened in 1971 and closed in 2007 (by the order of former Bishop Joseph F. Martino).
Hazleton Area School District
The Hazleton Area School District (HASD) operates public schools serving the city limits. The Hazleton Area School District encompasses approximately . According to 2000 federal census data, it served a resident population of 70,042. By 2010, the district's population increased to 72,862 people. The educational attainment levels for the Hazleton Area School District population (25 years old and over) were 83.8% high school graduates and 15.2% college graduates. As of 2015, there were 10,871 pupils in Hazleton Area School District. There are three schools in Hazleton (operated by the HASD):
*Hazleton Elementary/Middle School
*Heights-Terrace Elementary/Middle School
*Arthur Street Elementary School
All district students are zoned to Hazleton Area High School in Hazle Township.
Private schools
* Holy Family Academy
* Immanuel Christian School
* MMI Preparatory School
Colleges and universities
* Lackawanna College
* Luzerne County Community College
* Penn State Hazleton
Penn State Hazleton is a commonwealth campus of the Pennsylvania State University located in Sugarloaf Township, Pennsylvania. It has an enrollment of 426 students as of 2021.
History
Penn State Hazleton's origins trace back to 1934 during ...
Other
* The Greater Hazleton Historical Society and Museum
* Hazleton Area Public Library
Infrastructure
Public transportation
*Public transportation is provided by the Hazleton Public Transit, which operates nine routes throughout the city and neighboring communities.
Several jitney companies operate from Hazleton through Stroudsburg to Paterson and New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
via I-80.
Major highways
*There are three nearby Interstates:
**
**
**
*There are five major inbound roadways:
** (Broad Street)
** (Church Street)
** (Arthur Gardner Parkway)
** (CAN-DO Expressway, Broad Street (Conjuncture with PA-93), 15th Street, Terminus at PA-309)
** (Fisher's Avenue, Terminus at PA-309 and 22nd Street)
Rail
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...
and Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad are used for commercial rail traffic.
Air transit
* Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport (in Pittston Township
Pittston Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The population was 3,179 as of the 2020 census. The township is located within the Greater Pittston region. As of 2010, the to ...
)
* Hazleton Municipal Airport (two miles northwest of Hazleton)
Notable people
* Lou Barletta, former mayor of Hazleton and former U.S. congressman
* Edward Bonin, former mayor of Hazleton and former U.S. congressman
* Frank Borzage
Frank Borzage ( né Borzaga; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director for his film ''7th Heaven ...
, Academy Award-winning film director
* Hubie Brown
Hubert Jude Brown (born September 25, 1933) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors separated by 26 years. Brown was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Bas ...
, basketball coach and television analyst
* Russ Canzler, former professional baseball player
* Flick Colby, former choreographer
* John Dapcevich, former mayor of Juneau, Alaska
Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Southeast Alaska, Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the ...
* Carl Duser, former professional baseball player
* Todd A. Eachus, former Pennsylvania State Representative
* Dan Flood, former U.S. congressman
* Thomas R. Kline, lawyer
* Sarah Knauss, longest documented living American, world's third longest living documented person (until age 119)
* Norm Larker ( Beaver Meadows), player for the LA Dodgers
* Charles Lemmond, former state senator
* Sherrie Levine, photographer and appropriation artist
* H. Craig Lewis, former state senator
* Joe Maddon
Joseph John Maddon (born February 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball manager (baseball), manager and coach. He has managed the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB).
After playing ...
, Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
manager
* Don Malkames, cinematographer
* Tom Matchick, MLB player
* David Micahnik (born 1938), Olympic fencer
* Judith Nathan, wife of former New York City Mayor
The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, ...
Rudolph Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General fr ...
* Jack Palance
Walter Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk, , ''Volodymyr Ivanovych Palahniuk''; February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American screen and stage actor, known to film audiences for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominat ...
( Hazle Township), Oscar-winning actor
* Eddie Rambeau, singer, songwriter, and actor.
* Andrew Soltis
Andrew Eden Soltis (born May 28, 1947) is an American Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, author and columnist. He was inducted into the United States Chess Hall of Fame in September 2011.
Chess career
Soltis learned how the chess pieces mov ...
, chess grandmaster
Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally the t ...
* John Thomas Sweeney, murderer of Dominique Dunne
* Mike Tresh, MLB catcher
* Bob Tucker, NFL tight end with the New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
* June Winters, actress and singer
Sister cities
Hazleton's sister cities
A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there ar ...
are:
* Donegal, Limerick
Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...
, Letterkenny
Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...
- Ireland
* Corleone
Corleone (; or ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of roughly 11,158 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily.
Many Sicilian Mafia, Mafia bosses both in Sicily and the United States have come from the town of Corleone, inclu ...
, Cilento
Cilento () is an Italian mountain range (part of the Lucan Apennines), which gives its name to a geographical region of Campania in the central and southern part of the province of Salerno. Is an important tourist area of southern Italy.
...
, Bellagio, Positano
Positano ( ; in Neapolitan language, Neapolitan: () is a village and ''comune'' on the Amalfi Coast (Province of Salerno), in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast.
History
The first evidence of a settle ...
, Capri
Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...
, Campania
Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
- Italy
* Ayn al-Tamr - Iraq
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Cities in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Cities in Pennsylvania
Coal towns in Pennsylvania
Municipalities of the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Populated places established in 1780