forts; "G" represents the
battlefield of Wyoming; and "J" represents Fort Pittstown or the Pittstown stockades.
Establishment Pittston Township was one of the five original townships formed under the Susquehanna Land Company of
Connecticut (in the
Wyoming Valley). It was originally known as Pittstown (named for
Sir William Pitt, an English statesman). Each township was originally five square miles and divided amongst forty settlers. The township was surveyed in 1768. But, in 1784, flood waters destroyed the surveyor's marks and an act was passed for a new survey to take place. After being resurveyed, the township grew to nearly thirty-six square miles. Zebulon Marcy was the first white settler to build a brush (or log) cabin in the township. Some may refer to him as the first settler. The other leading families in the township (prior to and during the
American Revolution) were the Blanchards, Browns, Careys, Bennetts, Silsbeys, Marceys, Benedicts, St. Johns, Sawyers, and Coopers. Reverend Benedict was the first
preacher in the locality. Captain Jeremiah Blanchard Sr. commanded the Pittston Company. During the
Revolutionary War,
British and
American forces clashed within the Wyoming Valley. On the morning of July 4, 1778—after the surrender of
Forty Fort to the British—British Officer
Butler sent a detachment across the
river to Pittston and demanded the surrender of Fort Brown, which was commanded by Captain Blanchard. The fort capitulated on fair terms. The first
sawmill in the township was built near the mouth of the
Lackawanna in 1780 by Solomon Finn and E. L. Stevens. Dr. Nathaniel Giddings was the first
physician in the township. He came from Connecticut in 1787, and practiced medicine in the community until his death in 1851. He also set up one of the first
orchards in the township.
Coal mining showing the inundated area and the shafts used for escape and dewatering For sixty years, the Yankee element predominated the population of the township. When
coal was discovered, a great migration of various European nationalities began. This influx is responsible for the heterogeneous population found in the township today. The
coal interests soon became the largest source of wealth in the township (although there was some valuable farmland in the small valleys). Col. James W. Johnson was one of the pioneers in the mining and shipping of coal. He sent considerable quantities down the river in "
arks" when this was the only mode of transportation. McCarthyville, popularly known as Cork Lane, was once a mining village in Pittston Township. In 1892, the community consisted of 900 inhabitants and 140 dwellings.
Browntown, which neighbors Cork Lane, was another mining community in the township. In 1892, it consisted of nearly 1,000 residents and 200 dwellings. Pittston Township remained an active mining community for many decades. However, on January 22, 1959, the
Knox Mine Disaster (in nearby
Port Griffith) shattered the industry when the Susquehanna River broke through and flooded most of the interconnected mines in the area.
Airport As the United States entered the age of mass air transportation,
Scranton and
Wilkes-Barre (the largest cities in Northeast Pennsylvania) recognized the need for a large-scale airport. Despite the
Great Depression and hard times affecting the local coal mining industry, a windfall multimillion-dollar opportunity to plan and build a regional airport was presented to the counties of Luzerne and Lackawanna through their
Public Works Administration. It became apparent that a modern airport would be needed for the economic survival of the region. The site in and around Pittston Township was first surveyed in 1939 by the county commissioners of both counties. In 1941, John B. McDade, president of the Heidelberg Coal Company and father of
Congressman Joseph M. McDade, donated 122 acres on which part of the airport now sits. Most of the land was previously owned by various coal companies. By 1945, the two counties entered into a legal agreement to co-sponsor and operate the airport. Between 1945 and 1947, construction of the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport took place in and around Pittston Township. Today, the airport is known as the “Gateway to Northeastern Pennsylvania and the
Pocono Mountains.” It is the fifth busiest airport in Pennsylvania. On April 20, 1985, a
CT-39 Sabreliner crashed while attempting to land at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport; this resulted in the deaths of all five people on board (including
General Jerome F. O'Malley, the commander of
Tactical Air Command).
"Kids for cash" scandal The “kids for cash” scandal unfolded in 2008 over judicial
kickbacks at the
Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in
Wilkes-Barre. Two judges, President Judge
Mark Ciavarella and Senior Judge
Michael Conahan, were convicted of accepting money from Robert Mericle, builder of two private, for-profit youth centers for the detention of juveniles, in return for contracting with the facilities and imposing harsh
adjudications on juveniles brought before their courts to increase the number of residents in the centers. One such center was
PA Child Care in Pittston Township.
Tornado An
EF2 tornado struck
Suscon (Pittston Township) on Saturday, February 25, 2017. This was the first recorded tornado in February for Luzerne County. The tornado generated top wind speeds of , had a maximum width of , and traveled . ==Geography==