Lackawanna County Coal Mine

Lackawanna County is the youngest of Pennsylvania's 67 Counties, having been formed in 1878 from part of Luzerne County after a long dispute. Despite its relative youth, Lackawanna County has played a large role in not only the development of the State and Country, but also the world.
The Capoose Tribe of Native Americans was the original inhabitants of the area that would become Lackawanna County. However, in the late 1700's European settlers traveled from Connecticut to the valley because of the rich iron ore deposits used to make iron and steel. Soon, blast furnaces and forges began populating the landscape, marketing their product to neighboring towns. Small businesses followed the forges and modest communities began to form. Slocum Hollow, located where Scranton is today, opened a post office in 1811.

Another valuable asset to the area would soon be discovered. Anthracite coal lay underneath the entire region. Perhaps the first to realize the importance of coal were brothers John, William and Maurice Wurts. The brothers purchased land in what is Carbondale today and began mining. The Wurts had planned to ship the coal to Philadelphia but when coal mining began in the Lehigh and Schuylkill regions, those areas supplied Philadelphia. The brothers then formed the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. The idea was to transport coal from Carbondale's mines to Honesdale via a gravity railroad and from Honesdale to Roundout, New York, by a canal. From Roundout, the coal was transported down the Hudson River to New York City. With the success of the gravity railroad and canal system, additional gravity lines were extended from Carbondale down throughout the valley.

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