Wilkes-Barre
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city of Pennsylvania, the county-seat of Luzerne co. It is on the Susquehanna river, and on the Lehigh Valley, the Pennsylvania, the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley, the Delaware and Hudson, and the Central of New Jersey railroads. Wilkes-Barre is the center of the largest anthracite coal center in the world. It has, in addition, other important industries, including the largest axle and spring factory in the world; one of the largest wire and rope mills; and large locomotive and steel works. There are also 22 silk mills, a large lace mill, and manufactories of hosiery, shirts, mattresses, etc. There are 25 miles of paved streets and 52 miles of sewers. The parks have an area of over 300 acres, and there are over 200 churches of all denominations. The hospitals include four free hospitals, one private, and one contagious disease hospital. The city has excellent educational advantages. There are 25 public schools, 2 parochial schools, 3 business schools, and 3 private schools, with a total enrollment of over 15,000. There are extension schools of the University of Pennsylvania and of Pennsylvania State College. In the city are 26 banks and trust companies, and total combined savings deposits of $66,973,400 in 1919. The total clearings in that year were $133,- 507,744. There are many wholesale establishments, dealing in over 125 classes of articles. The assessed valuation of the city in 1919 was $79,000,000. The valuation of the products of the manufacturing industries in the same year was $75,000,000. The city was founded in 1769 and incorporated in 1806. It became a city in 1871. Coal has been mined in the vicinity since the Revolutionary period. Pop. (1910) 67,105; (1920) 73,833.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
When Collier's wrote this in 1921 Wilkes-Barre sat at the heart of "the largest anthracite coal center in the world," with 22 silk mills and a rising population of 73,833. Anthracite had in fact already peaked, and the industry was effectively finished locally by the Knox Mine disaster of January 1959, when the Susquehanna broke into workings under Port Griffith and drowned the mines; Hurricane Agnes then flooded the city in June 1972 in one of the worst disasters in Pennsylvania history. The population has fallen by roughly half, to about 44,000 in the 2020 census, and the extension classes Collier's noted have been superseded by two resident institutions, Wilkes University and King's College. The city remains the seat of Luzerne County, and its economy now rests on health care, education and warehousing rather than coal, silk and axles.
Written for this edition, 2026.