Greater Pittston
Encyclopedia
Greater Pittston is a 65.5 square miles (169.6 km²) region in Luzerne County
, Pennsylvania
, in reference to the area in and around Pittston
. The total population of the Greater Pittston area is around 50,000 people. This region includes Avoca
, Dupont
, Duryea
, Exeter Boro
, Exeter Township
, Hughestown
, Jenkins Township
, Laflin
, Pittston Township
, West Pittston
, West Wyoming
, Wyoming
and Yatesville
.
, Pennsylvania
, encompassing the Susquehanna River
. Pittston Township
has the largest landmass, in all of Greater Pittston, with a total area of 14.4 square miles (37.3 km²). Yatesville covers the least amount of land, in all of Greater Pittston, with a total area of only 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²).
According to the 2000 census, around 50,000 people live in and around Pittston City
. Pittston has the highest population, in all of Greater Pittston, with nearly 8,000 citizens. Yatesville
has the smallest population with only 649 citizens.
of Greater Pittston's representative city (Pittston, Pennsylvania
) is Jason C. Klush
. Every other borough
and township
, in the Greater Pittston area, has their own form of governance which includes mayors and supervisors
.
passes through Pittston Township
and the surrounding Greater Pittston area. There is also public transportation to and from Greater Pittston. Railways into Greater Pittston provides for other services.
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, in reference to the area in and around Pittston
Pittston, Pennsylvania
Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. It gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal mining city, drawing a large portion of its labor force from European immigrants. The population was...
. The total population of the Greater Pittston area is around 50,000 people. This region includes Avoca
Avoca, Pennsylvania
Avoca is a borough within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, ten miles northeast of Wilkes Barre and nine miles southwest of Scranton. The population was 2,851 at the 2000 census...
, Dupont
Dupont, Pennsylvania
Dupont is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania which neighbors the city of Wilkes-Barre. The population was 2,719 at the 2000 census. Dupont name was originally called Smithville after its first group of settlers. It was a small Polish town where most of the jobs...
, Duryea
Duryea, Pennsylvania
Duryea is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA, nine miles south of Scranton on the Lackawanna River. Duryea was incorporated as a borough in 1891. Coal mining and the manufacture of silk were the chief industries in the early years of its existence. The...
, Exeter Boro
Exeter, Pennsylvania
Exeter is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, about west of Scranton. The borough is in the middle of a fertile agricultural area, and some lumber and coal-mining had been carried out early on. In 1900, the population consisted of 1,948 persons; in 1910, 3,537...
, Exeter Township
Exeter Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Exeter Township is a township within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,557 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, Hughestown
Hughestown, Pennsylvania
Hughestown is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,541 at the 2000 census....
, Jenkins Township
Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania
Jenkins Township is a township within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,584 at the 2000 census. The township is adjacent to the small city of Pittston...
, Laflin
Laflin, Pennsylvania
Laflin is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,502 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Laflin is located at ....
, Pittston Township
Pittston Township, Pennsylvania
Pittston Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township is located within the Greater Pittston metro area. The population was 3,450 at the 2000 census. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is located in Pittston Township.-History:Pittston Township was...
, West Pittston
West Pittston, Pennsylvania
West Pittston is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River opposite Pittston. The town once produced mine screens, cut glass, crackers, and knit and silk goods.-Geography:...
, West Wyoming
West Wyoming, Pennsylvania
West Wyoming is a borough within Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,833 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Wyoming is located at ....
, Wyoming
Wyoming, Pennsylvania
Wyoming is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States five miles north of Wilkes Barre, on the Susquehanna River. Formerly, coal mining was the chief industry. In 1900, 1,909 people resided in Wyoming. There were 3,010 residents in 1910...
and Yatesville
Yatesville, Pennsylvania
Yatesville is a borough within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 649 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Yatesville is located at ....
.
History
- 3 July 1778—A force of BritishGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Tories, led by John Butler, with the assistance of about 700 IndiansNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, attacked and killed nearly 300 Wyoming ValleyWyoming ValleyWyoming Valley is a region of northeastern Pennsylvania. As a metropolitan area, it is also known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, after its principal cities, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre....
settlers. Today in Wyoming, PA, a monument marks the gravesite of the victims from the Battle of Wyoming. - 28 June 1896—The Newton CoalCoal miningThe goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
Company's Twin Shaft MineTwin Shaft DisasterThe Twin Shaft Disaster occurred in the Newton Coal Company's Twin Shaft Colliery in Pittston, Pennsylvania on June 28, 1896, when a massive cave-in killed fifty-eight miners.-Disaster:...
in Pittston City caved-in and killed 58 miners. - 1934 — The right arm of Hughestown, PennsylvaniaHughestown, PennsylvaniaHughestown is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,541 at the 2000 census....
resident, Harry Tompkins, was crushed by an Erie Railroad train. This resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Erie Railroad Co. v. TompkinsErie Railroad Co. v. TompkinsErie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court held that federal courts did not have the judicial power to create general federal common law when hearing state law claims under diversity jurisdiction...
, which laid the foundation for a large part of modern American civil procedure. - 22 January 1959 — The Knox Mine DisasterKnox Mine disasterThe Knox Mine disaster was a mining accident that took place in Port Griffith, a town in Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania, near Pittston, on January 22, 1959....
in Port GriffithPort Griffith, Pennsylvania-External links:* at Mine Country History...
, Jenkins TownshipJenkins Township, PennsylvaniaJenkins Township is a township within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,584 at the 2000 census. The township is adjacent to the small city of Pittston...
, claimed the lives of 12 people and essentially shut down the mining industry in Northeastern PennsylvaniaNortheastern PennsylvaniaNortheastern Pennsylvania is a geographic region of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton and Carbondale....
. - June 1972 — Hurricane AgnesHurricane AgnesHurricane Agnes was the first tropical storm and first hurricane of the 1972 Atlantic hurricane season. A rare June hurricane, it made landfall on the Florida Panhandle before moving northeastward and ravaging the Mid-Atlantic region as a tropical storm...
was responsible for massive flooding in and around the Greater Pittston area. - 1974 – 1989 — Alleged ghost hauntingsGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
took place in the home of Jack and Janet Smurl in West PittstonWest Pittston, PennsylvaniaWest Pittston is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River opposite Pittston. The town once produced mine screens, cut glass, crackers, and knit and silk goods.-Geography:...
. This resulted in the 1991 film The Haunted. - 25 September 1982 — George BanksGeorge BanksGeorge Emil Banks is an American mass murderer, sentenced to death by electrocution, but later declared by the court to be too psychotic to execute. Banks, a former Camp Hill prison guard, shot 13 people to death on September 25, 1982 in Wilkes-Barre City and Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania,...
kills 13 people in a shootingShootingShooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...
rampageRampageRampage may refer to:* Rampage , an American rapper* Dodge Rampage, a subcompact, unibody pickup truck* Rampage , a video game series....
in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township. - 1992 — The opening scenes from the movie School TiesSchool TiesSchool Ties is a 1992 film directed by Robert Mandel starring Brendan Fraser, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris O'Donnell, Cole Hauser, Randall Batinkoff, and Anthony Rapp....
was filmed in West PittstonWest Pittston, PennsylvaniaWest Pittston is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna River opposite Pittston. The town once produced mine screens, cut glass, crackers, and knit and silk goods.-Geography:...
; it shows David Green, the hero of the movie (played by Brendan FraserBrendan FraserBrendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American film and stage actor. Fraser portrayed Rick O'Connell in the three-part Mummy film series , and is known for his comedic and fantasy film leading roles in major Hollywood films, including Encino Man , George of the Jungle , Dudley Do-Right , Monkeybone ,...
), hanging out with friends in the streets of the tiny town. - September 2011: The Greater Pittston area, along with the rest of Luzerne County, witnessed historical flooding from Tropical Storm LeeTropical Storm Lee (2011)Tropical Storm Lee was the twelfth named storm and thirteenth system overall of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, developing from a broad tropical disturbance over the Gulf on September 1. It was designated as Tropical Storm Lee the next day...
. The Susquehanna River reached a record high of 42.6 feet (13 meters) in Wilkes-Barre. The river topped the 40.9-foot (12.5 meters) level in flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972.
Geography
Greater Pittston is a 65.5 square miles (169.6 km²) region in Luzerne CountyLuzerne County, Pennsylvania
- Demographics :As of the 2010 census, the county was 90.7% White, 3.4% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 3.3% were of some other race, and 1.5% were two or more races. 6.7% of the population was of Hispanic or Latino ancestry...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, encompassing the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...
. Pittston Township
Pittston Township, Pennsylvania
Pittston Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township is located within the Greater Pittston metro area. The population was 3,450 at the 2000 census. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is located in Pittston Township.-History:Pittston Township was...
has the largest landmass, in all of Greater Pittston, with a total area of 14.4 square miles (37.3 km²). Yatesville covers the least amount of land, in all of Greater Pittston, with a total area of only 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²).
Population
Pittston, Pennsylvania
Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. It gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal mining city, drawing a large portion of its labor force from European immigrants. The population was...
. Pittston has the highest population, in all of Greater Pittston, with nearly 8,000 citizens. Yatesville
Yatesville, Pennsylvania
Yatesville is a borough within the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 649 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Yatesville is located at ....
has the smallest population with only 649 citizens.
Government
The current mayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Greater Pittston's representative city (Pittston, Pennsylvania
Pittston, Pennsylvania
Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. It gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active anthracite coal mining city, drawing a large portion of its labor force from European immigrants. The population was...
) is Jason C. Klush
Jason Klush
Jason Constant Klush is the current mayor of Pittston City, Pennsylvania. He is the youngest mayor in the city's history . -Pittston City mayoral election, 2009:...
. Every other borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
and township
Township
The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...
, in the Greater Pittston area, has their own form of governance which includes mayors and supervisors
Town supervisor
Town Supervisor is an elective legislative position in New York towns. Supervisors sit on the town board, where they preside over town board meetings and vote on all matters with no more legal weight than that of any other board member .Towns may adopt local laws that allow them to provide for an...
.
Transportation
Interstate 81Interstate 81
Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...
passes through Pittston Township
Pittston Township, Pennsylvania
Pittston Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The township is located within the Greater Pittston metro area. The population was 3,450 at the 2000 census. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is located in Pittston Township.-History:Pittston Township was...
and the surrounding Greater Pittston area. There is also public transportation to and from Greater Pittston. Railways into Greater Pittston provides for other services.