WILKES-BARRE, Pa., county-seat of Lu 7erne County and regarded by many as the /nest beautiful city in the State, on the north branch of the Susquehanna River, and on the Central Railroad of New . Jersey, the Wilkes Barre and Eastern, the Delaware and Hudson, the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton, the Delaware, Lackawanna and NA estern, the Lehigh Valley, the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley and the Pennsylvania railroads. 110 milt s northwest of Philadelphia and 110 miles seat of New York City. It was first settled in 17(0 by New Eng land people, mainly from Connecticut. under the auspices of The Susquehanna Company, and was named in honor of John Wilkes and Isaac Barre (qq.v.), members of the British Parlia ment. During the Revolutionary War the set tlers were, with few exceptions, to to the pa triot cause. July 3, 1778, the male inhabitants of Wyoming Valley, who were assembled at Forty Fort to repel an invading foe, were at tacked near the fort (on Abraham's Plains. some seven miles from Wilkes-Barre) by a bat talion of British Rangers with their Indian al lies, and were badly defeated. The Wyoming Monument, erected near the field of bank. commemorates the valor of the Americans who fought on this bloody field. Following the sur render of Forty Fort, on 4 July Wilkes Barre was almost wholly destroyed by the en emy. Wilkes-Barre was, in the period of 1769 to 1784, the centre of the controversy between Connecticut and Pennsylvania, each State claim ing territorial jurisdiction over the Wyoming region (see PENNSYLVANIA, HinOry) and was the scene of several conflicts during that con troversy, being almost entirely destroyed by fire at one time in 1784. It was gradually re built and was incorporated as a borough in 1806; its growth has been rapid since the Civil War; and in 1871 it was incorporated as a city. It is situated near the centre of Wyoming Val ley, in the midst of picturesque scenery. Wilkes Barre is the birthplace of the anthracite coal mining industry. It was here the discovery was made that there existed en this continent such a mineral as anthracite (or 'stone coal' as it was early called). Here anthracite was first used for fires in naileries and blacksmiths' shops; and was thus used for upward of 3) years before the existence of anthracite in any part of Pennsylvania save Wyoming Valley was known. Here anthracite first came into use as a fuel for domestic purposes. Wilkes Barre lies in the seventh anthracite mining dis trict of Pennsylvania and from the 37 mines and washeries in operation in the district there are produced annually about 5,000,000 toss of coal. The manufacturing and mechanical in
dustries of the city are large- the census for 1914 reported over 400 establishments, with a combined invested capital of $19,000,000 and a gross production of nearly $17,000,000. Among these, silk and lace mills, axle-works, foundries and machine shops and wire-rope works are the most important. The city also contains breweries, manufactories of cotton goods and the Lehigh Valley Railroad shops There are three national banks and six savings banks and trust companies working under State charters. The city is well built and has a public square containing four acres and a park ('The Riser Common') containing 35 acres along the riser front. In the vicinity of the city are the W oming Monument, already mentioned, the old Fort Church, Harvey's Lake (the largm lake in Pennsylvania) and other points of his toric interest. The notable public buildings are the city hall, courthouse, jail, post office, ar mory and Memorial Hall. The city has a num ber of charitable institutions, including two hos pitals — one the City Hospital and the other Mercy Hospital (under the ma ent of the Roman Catholics) ; a Home for Friendless Chil dren and a Home for Homeless Women It has 20 public school buildings, indudiug the high school building erected in 1890, in which, m addition to the usual studies, instruction in manual training is given. It has also six Roman Catholic parish schools and is the seat of Harry Hillman Academy (for boys), the \‘'ilkes-Barre Institute (for girls), the Wilkes-Barre Busi ness College, the New Century School of Cor respondence and two Roman Catholic academies for girls — Saint Mary's, connected with Saint Mary's Convent, and Saint Ann's, connected rich Mallinckrodt Convent. There are two large public libraries — The Osterhout Free Li brary (having reference and circulating depart ments), and the reference library of the Wyom ing Ilestorical and Geological Society. In ad dition, the Law and Library Association, the Young Men's Christian Association and other organizations have library collections. The gov ernment of the city is of commission form, the mayor being elected for four years and the four councilmen for two years; the appoint ing power rests with the mayor and commis sion. Pop. 75,0011 But, elbowing the city on all its boundaries are boroughs and hamlets, to that within a radius of nine miles from the centre of Wilkes-Barre there is a population of approximately 200.000.