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VIRTU
ANY
RINDEPENDENCE
IBER
A HISTORY OF
WILKES-BARRE
LUZERNE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
FROM ITS FIRST BEGINNINGS TO THE PRESENT TIME; INCLUDING CHAPTERS OF NEWLY-DISCOVERED
EARLY WYOMING VALLEY HISTORY
TOGETHER WITH MANY BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND MUCH GENEALOGICAL MATERIAL
BY
OSCAR JEWELL HARVEY, A. M.
AUTHOR OF "A HISTORY OF LODGE NO. 61, F. & A. M.", "THE HARVEY BOOK", "A HISTORY OF IREM TEMPLE", ETC.
ILLUSTRATED WITH MANY PORTRAITS, MAPS, FACSIMILES, ORIGINAL DRAWINGS AND CONTEMPORARY VIEWS
P
COMPLETE IN THREE VOLUMES
VOLUME I
WILKES-BARRÉ 1909
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 10.41
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONE 1900
COPYRIGHT, MAY, 1909, BY OSCAR J. HARVEY.
RAEDER PRESS, Wilkes-Barré, Penna.
THESE ANNALS OF MY NATIVE TOWN ARE DEDICATED TO
THE WYOMING HISTORICAL AND GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, WILKES-BARRÉ,
IN ADMIRING RECOGNITION OF ITS AIMS AND THE IMPORTANT RESULTS IT IS ACCOMPLISHING; AS WELL AS IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE VALUABLE AID GIVEN ME BY MANY OF ITS MEMBERS, AND THE LARGE AMOUNT OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION GLEANED BY ME FROM ITS COLLECTIONS, DURING THE PROGRESS OF MY WORK.
"Sires of old, your fame is writ in gold ; Your heritage we treasure, and your mandates heed. While Time shall last, no stain shall e'er be cast To dim the light that shines above each patriot deed." -Brinley Richards.
E
Errata-Volume I.
PAGE
170. Sixth line from bottoni-" six " should be five.
226.
216. Third paragraphi of foot-note-"Volume II" in first line should be Volume I. Second paragraph of foot-note-ninth and tenth lines should read : Col. James Burd at Fort Augusta wrote to Capt. Joseph Shippen at Lan- caster, etc.
261. First paragraph of second foot-note-"the preceding page" in the next to the last line should be this page.
278. Second paragraph-in third line from end "one son and two daughters " should be two sons and two daughters; William and Peter being the names of the sons.
285. Last paragraph, sixth line-"Turbott " should be Turbutt.
443. Foot-note, first line-" left bank " should be right bank.
468. Sixtlı paragraph-Asahel Buck was killed February 18, 1779.
480. Second paragraph of third foot-note-in third line : John Durkee was born at Ipswich in 1665, the son of William Durkee (born in 1630), a mariner, who came to Ipswich via the West Indies, and was married December 20, 1664, to Martha Cross of Ipswich.
481. Third paragraph, tenth line : Mehetabel Durkee was married February 14, 1750, at Canada Parish, Windham, to James Bidlack, Sr.
481. Third paragraph, twelfth line-Sarah Durkee was born in Canada Parish, Windham.
483. Seventh paragraph, seventh line-"April " should be September.
491. Last line of foot-note-Turbutt Francis died in 1777. (See "Pennsylvania Archives," 2nd Series, XVIII : 740. )
500. Last paragraph of foot-note, fifth line-strike out the words "and youngest."
503. Last paragraph, eighth line-insert after " 1759" and 1760.
517. First paragraph, tenth line-for "nearly twenty-nine" substitute about twenty-three.
526. Eleventh line-for " 1801 " substitute April 3, 1798.
.
Contents of Volume I.
PAGE A NOTE OF EXPLANATION . 7
A CHRONOLOGICAL, TABLE OF IMPORTANT OCCURRENCES . 9
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION-REASONS FOR WRITING THIS HISTORY-SOURCES OF INFORMA-
TION . 17
CHAPTER II.
THE NORTH BRANCH OF THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER-THE VALLEY OF WYOMING - LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION-POETRY AND LEGEND. . 32 .
CHAPTER III.
THE AMERIND PEOPLE-THE MOUND-BUILDERS-THE ABORIGINALS OF NEW
YORK AND PENNSYLVANIA 78
CHAPTER IV.
EARLY INDIAN SETTLEMENTS IN WYOMING-EARLIEST VISITS OF WHITE MEN- MORAVIAN MISSIONARIES ON THE SUSQUEHANNA-CONNECTICUT LAND COM- PANIES ORGANIZED-THE "WYOMING REGION" PURCHASED FROM THE SIX NATIONS . 169
CHAPTER V.
THE SUSQUEHANNA COMPANY STIRS UP A HORNET'S NEST-SIR WILLIAM JOHN- SON AND THE SIX NATIONS-FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR-WYOMING TEMPO- RARILY DESERTED BY THE INDIANS-INDIAN CONGRESSES AND CONFERENCES IN PENNSYLVANIA-THE DELAWARE INDIANS ESTABLISHED AT WYOMING . 295
CHAPTER VI.
MORE INDIAN CONFERENCES AND POW-WOWS-ATTEMPTS AT SETTLEMENT IN WYOMING BY THE WHITES UNDER THE SUSQUEHANNA COMPANY-DEATH OF KING TEEDYUSCUNG-FIRST MASSACRE OF THE WHITE SETTLERS-WYO- MING FORSAKEN BY THE INDIANS . 384
5
6
CHAPTER VII.
PAGE
THE CLOSING DAYS OF PONTIAC'S WAR-INDIAN COUNCIL AND TREATY AT FORT STANWIX-INDIAN SALE OF LANDS TO THE PENNSYLVANIA PROPRIETARIES- SURVEYS AND SETTLEMENTS AT WYOMING UNDER THE PROPRIETARIES . . 435
CHAPTER VIII.
THE SETTLEMENT AT WYOMING RENEWED BY THE SUSQUEHANNA COMPANY- MAJOR DURKEE AND THE "SONS OF LIBERTY"-FORT DURKEE ERECTED THE FIVE "SETTLING-TOWNS "-WILKES-BARRE LAID OUT AND NAMED- SOME FACTS RELATIVE TO THE WRITING AND PRONUNCIATION OF THE NAME OF THE TOWN 462
CHAPTER IX.
THE RIGHT HON. JOHN WILKES, PATRIOT, STATESMAN, AND A FRIEND TO LIBERTY . 525
CHAPTER X.
THE RIGHT HON. ISAAC BARRE, SOLDIER, ORATOR, STATESMAN, AND AMERICA'S ADVOCATE AND CHAMPION . 570
A Note of Explanation.
In gathering together material for this work I spent upwards of three years before attempting to prepare for the printer a single page of copy. At length, having effected what I then believed to be an exhaustive search for interesting and authentic historical matter relat- ing to Wilkes-Barre and Wyoming Valley, I began the task of putting the same in shape for the printer ; and soon thereafter the actual work of printing the following pages was begun.
But, while preparing copy, and reading proofs of the printer's work, I sought in new directions for additional historical data, and met with unusual and pronounced success. One find seemed to lead to another find, and the large amount of theretofore unused and absolutely valtı- able material, which it was my good fortune to turn up, soon convinced me that it would be necessary for me either to recast iny plans and enlarge the scope of iny work, or else discard entirely my latest finds. Meanwhile, I had been urged by competent and esteemed advisers to devote as much space in my book as possible to an account of the vari- ous clans and tribes of Indians which at one time or another had occul- pied Wyoming Valley.
After careful consideration it seemed to me that, in the circum- stances, the proper course for ine to pursue was : to stop the work of printing, and devote a considerable amount of time to further investiga- tion and consideration of the subject matter in hand.
In the execution of this plan a large amount of time has been necessarily expended, the printing of the work has gone on by slow degrees, and, instead of appearing in one volume of about 700 pages (as originally intended, and arranged for), the work comprises three royal Svo volumes, aggregating over 1,800 pages. Two of these volumes are published at this time, while the third and final volume (which will contain a very complete and comprehensive index to the three volumes) will appear about the close of the present year.
May 19, 1909.
O. J. H.
-
" Deal gently with us, ye who read ! Our largest hope is unfulfilled ; The promise still outruns the deed ; The tower, but not the spire, we build."
"Would I might borrow from the mines of inorn A little of their brimming store of gold ! Would I might filch from out the sunset's hold Some of the rubies that its breast adorn !"
A Chronological Table
OF SOME OF THE MOST INTERESTING AND IMPORTANT OCCURRENCES MENTIONED IN THIS WORK.
1616-Étienne Brulé (Stephen Bruehle) descends the Susquehanna River, from the head-waters of its North Branch to Chesapeake Bay.
1701-A band of Shawanese Indians establish themselves in Wyoming Valley.
1723-A large number of Palatines pass through Wyoming Valley en route from Scho- harie Valley, New York, to Berks County, Pennsylvania.
1729-Conrad Weiser passes through Wyoming en route from Schoharie, New York, to Berks County, Pennsylvania.
1737-March. Conrad Weiser at Wyoming.
-April. Dutch traders from New York at Wyoming ..
1738-Conrad Weiser and William Parsons visit Wyoming.
·1741-The Rev. John Sergeant, accompanied by several Stockbridge Indians, comes from Massachusetts to Wyoming to preach the gospel to the Indians located here. 1742-July. Delaware Indians (of the Unami, or Wanamie, clan) ordered by the Six Nations to remove to Wyoming.
-September. A band of Wanamies establish themselves in what is now the Fif- teenth Ward of Wilkes-Barre.
-October. Count Zinzendorff and his companions at Wyoming.
1744-April. Moravian missionaries John M. Mack and Christian Frölich at Wyoming. 1746-Spring. John M. Mack again visits Wyoming.
1747-Autumn. Bishop Spangenberg ( Moravian) visits Wyoming and preaches to the Indians.
1748 -- June. Nanticoke Indians remove from the mouth of the Juniata to Wyoming Valley-lower end.
--- July. Missionaries Mack and Zeisberger at Wyoming.
-October. Baron de Watteville (a Moravian Bishop) and missionaries Cammer- hoff, Mack and Zeisberger at Wyoming.
-October 7. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper administered at Wyoming for the first time.
1749-April. A numerous band of Shawanese, under the chieftanship of Paxinosa, locate in Wyoming.
1750-May. Missionaries Cammerhoff, Mack and Zeisberger, accompanied by Timothy Horsfield and Gottlieb Bezold of Bethlehem, spend eight days at Wyoming. 1751-November. Zeisberger at Wyoming.
1752-June. Spangenberg, Zeisberger and the Rev. C. Seidel of Bethlehem at Wyoming.
-July. An embassy of Shawanese and Nanticoke Indians goes from Wyoming to Gnadenhütten.
1753-March. An embassy of Shawanese and Nanticoke Indians from Wyoming visits Gnadenhütten.
9
10
1753-May. The Nanticoke Indians remove from Wyoming to New York.
-May. The Rev. Christian Seidel of Bethlehem visits Wyoming.
-May. Certain white traders at Wyoming.
-May. Memorial, relative to lands at Wyoming, presented by certain inhabitants of Connecticut to the General Assembly of that Colony.
+
-July 18. "The Susquehanna Company" organized at Windham, Connecticut.
-October. Exploring and purchasing committee of The Susquehanna Company visits Wyoming.
1754-April. Many Indians, under the leadership of Teedyuscung, remove from Gnaden- hütten to Wyoming and locate within the present limits of Wilkes-Barré.
-July. Moravian missionaries B. A. Grubé and C. G. Rundt from Gnadenhütten spend some days at Wyoming preaching to the Indians ; during which time the sacrament of baptism is administered for the first time in this region.
-July 11. Deed from Six Nation Indians conveying the Wyoming region to The Susquehanna Company is executed at Albany, New York.
-Autumn. Representatives of the abovementioned Company come to Wyoming to look over the lands which have been purchased.
1755-March. Christian Frederick Post, a Moravian missionary, establishes himself at Wyoming to minister to the Indian converts here, and to entertain visiting missionaries.
-July. Missionaries Zeisberger and Seidel at Wyoming.
-October. Zeisberger and Seidel are again at Wyoming preaching to the Indians.
1756-Owing to the French and English War Wyoming is entirely forsaken by the Indians.
1757-October. The erection of houses at Wyoming, for the use of the Delaware Indians under the chieftanship of Teedyuscung, is begun by the Pennsylvania authorities.
1758-May 22. Teedyuscung and his Delawares again settle down in Wyoming, and the work of building houses for them is resumed by white workmen in the em- ploy of the Pennsylvania Government.
-May 27. The first death of a white man-killed and scalped by inimical Indians- - occurs in Wyoming.
1762-March. David Zeisberger goes on a mission to the Indians at Wyoming.
-May 19. The Susquehanna Company decides to effect a settlement upon their lands at Wyoming.
-June. Important conference at Easton, Pennsylvania, between Governor Ham- ilton of Pennsylvania, Sir Wm. Johnson, and Teedyuscung and other chiefs of the Delaware Indians.
-August. Conference at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, between Governor Hamilton and Six Nation, Delaware and Shawanese Indians.
-September. Under the auspices of The Susquehanna Company 119 settlers locate near the mouth of Mill Creek, within the limits of what was later the town- ship of Wilkes-Barré, and begin to build three small block-houses.
1763-Deed to The Susquehanna Company-confirming the sale of Wyoming lands made in July, 1754-executed by Six Nation Indians.
-April 19. The Delaware King, Teedyuscung, burnt to death in his house, within the present limits of Wilkes-Barré.
-May. The settlement at Mill Creek is renewed by a large number of people under The Susquehanna Company.
-May. David Zeisberger preaches twice to the Indians at Wyoming.
-June. John Woolman, the noted Quaker minister, preaches to the Wyoming Indians.
-June. The red men's occupancy of Wyoming Valley comes to an end.
-October 15. Delaware Indians attack the settlers at Mill Creek, some of whom are massacred, others are driven away from the valley, and the remainder are carried off as prisoners.
1764-Wyoming Valley uninhabited by either whites or Indians.
+
11
1765-John Anderson, Capt. John Dick and Capt. Amos Ogden, Pennsylvania and New Jersey men, locate in Wyoming Valley as Indian traders, under authority received from Sir William Johnson.
-Specimens of anthracite coal taken from Wyoming and sent to England.
1768-November. Indian treaty at Fort Stanwix, New York.
-December 8. The "Manor of Sunbury " surveyed at Wyoming for the Proprie- taries of Pennsylvania.
-December 9. The " Manor of Stoke " (comprehending the present city and town- ship of Wilkes-Barré) located and surveyed for the Proprietaries of Penn- sylvania.
-- December. Captain Ogden, Jolın Anderson, Charles Stewart, Alexander Patter- son, John Jennings, and several other Pennsylvanians and New Jerseymen, with the intention of becoming lessees or purchasers of the Proprietary lands at Wyoming, erect a small block-house at Mill Creek and establish them- selves therein.
-December 28. The Susquehanna Company formally decides to retake possession of its lands in Wyoming and settle the same.
1769-February 8. The " first forty " settlers under The Susquehanna Company arrive at Wyoming.
-May 12. A large body of settlers, led by Maj. John Durkee, with authority from The Susquehanna Company, arrives at Wyoming from Connecticut and New York, and the erection of Fort Durkee is begun on the river bank near the present Ross Street, Wilkes-Barré.
-June 22. Col. Turbutt Francis, in command of a small body of armed Pennsylva- nians, comes to Wyoming from Fort Augusta (now Sunbury, Pennsylvania) and orders the New Englanders to leave the valley.
-July. The town (township) of Wilkes-Barré located and named by Major Durkee. -August 29. A large number of settlers under The Susquehanna Company, at Wilkes-Barré, petition the General Assembly of Connecticut to erect the lands at Wyoming into a county.
-September. The five "settling-towns " in Wyoming Valley surveyed under the direction of Major Durkee.
-September. The First Pennamite-Yankee War is begun.
-November 14. Fort Durkee is surrendered to the Pennamites by the Yankees, and the latter are driven from the valley.
1770-February 11. Capt. Lazarus Stewart and his "Paxtang Boys" come to Wilkes- Barré to co-operate with the Yankees. They regain possession of Fort Durkee.
-June. Wilkes-Barré town-plot is surveyed and plotted, and lots are drawn by the proprietors of the township.
--- June 28. Governor Penn of Pennsylvania issues a proclamation prohibiting any person from settling at Wyoming without authority from the Proprietaries of the Province.
1771-Jannary 18. The erection of Fort Wyoming is begun by the Pennamites on the river bank near the present Northampton Street, Wilkes-Barré.
-August 15. Fort Wyoming is surrendered by the Pennamites, after a siege of twenty-six days by a force of Yankees under the command of Capt. Zebulon Butler.
1772-March. Northumberland County (comprehending Wyoming Valley) is erected by Act of the Pennsylvania Assembly.
-First grist-mill erected in Wyoming Valley-on Mill Creek.
-April. Survey of Wilkes-Barré township completed, and lots finally distributed.
-November. Forty Fort erected in Kingston Township.
1773-June 2. The Susquehanna Company adopts "Articles of Agreement," or a code of laws, for the government of the Wyoming settlements, and " Directors " in and for the six Wyoming townships are appointed.
12
+ 1774-January. The Wyoming region is erected by the General Assembly of Connecticut into the town of Westmoreland, and attached to Litchfield County, Connec- ticut.
-March 1. The town of Westmoreland is formally organized by an election of offi- cers, and the transaction of other business, at a "town-meeting" held in Wilkes-Barré.
1775-May. The 24th, or Westmoreland, Regiment of Connecticut Militia established, with Zebulon Butler as Colonel.
-July. Conference of Indians from New York with Col. Zebulon Butler at Wilkes- Barré.
-August 8. The inhabitants of Westmoreland, assembled in town-meeting at Wilkes-Barré, resolve that they will "unanimously join " their " brethren in America in the common cause of defending " their liberty.
-September 28. Pennamites attack Connecticut settlers on the West Branch of the Susquehanna, wounding and killing some and taking others prisoners.
-November 4. Congress recommends that the Province of Pennsylvania should put a stop to hostilities against the Yankees in the Wyoming region.
-December 25. The Plunket invasion and the battle of "Rampart Rocks." Ternii- nation of the First Pennamite-Yankee War.
1776-March 6. Sixty-six men of Westmoreland organize thieniselves into a military company and offer their services to the Continental Congress to " engage in the common cause as soldiers in the defense of liberty."
-August 24. At a town-meeting held in Wilkes-Barré the inhabitants of Westmore- land vote to erect suitable forts as a defense against the " common enemy."
-September 16. Conference of Indians from New York State with Col. Zebulon Butler at Wilkes-Barré.
-September 17. The two "Wyoming, or Westmoreland, Independent Companies " -enlisted a few weeks previously-are mustered into the Continental service at Wilkes-Barré.
-October. The town of Westmoreland is erected into the county of Westmoreland, of the State of Connecticut, by the General Assembly of that State.
1777-January 1. The "Wyoming Independent Companies " march from Wilkes-Barré to New Jersey, where they take part in the battle of Millstone River, Janu- ary 20.
-January. A large party of Indians from New York, en route to Easton, Pennsyl- vania, spend several days at Wilkes-Barré and hold an informal conference with the local authorities.
-May 1. 'A conference is held at Wilkes-Barré between a delegation of Six Nation Indians and a committee of Westmoreland inhabitants.
1778-July 3. Battle and massacre of Wyoming.
-July 4. Capitulation of Forty Fort. Wilkes-Barré almost wholly destroyed by the Indians.
-August 4. Continental soldiers and Westmoreland militia under the command of Col. Zebulon Butler march into Wyoming Valley and establish " Camp West- moreland " at Wilkes-Barre.
-October 1-3. Colonel Hartley's military expedition at Wilkes-Barré on its return march from the upper Susquehanna.
-October 28. The remains of the Westmorelanders who lost their lives in the battle and massacre of July 3, 1778, are gathered up and interred.
-October. Fort Wyoming (the second work of defense to bear that name) is erected on the River Common near Northampton Street.
-- November 2. Frances Slocum carried into captivity by Indians.
1779-April 11. First troops for the Sullivan Expedition reach Wilkes-Barré.
-June 23. General Sullivan, with the main body of his army, arrives at Wilkes- Barré.
-June 24. The first meeting of a Lodge of Free Masons to be held in North-eastern Pennsylvania takes place at Wilkes-Barré.
13
1779-July 1. First public execution by hanging in Wyoming Valley.
-July 5. An elaborate entertainment is held at Forty Fort "in celebration of the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence."
-July 31. The Sullivan Expedition sets out from Wilkes-Barré on its march up the Susquehanna.
-October 7. The Sullivan Expedition returns to Wilkes-Barré.
1780-A Continental military garrison ( the "Wyoming Post ") is maintained at Wilkes- Barré under the command of Col. Zebulon Butler.
1782-May. Col. John Durkee, the founder of Wilkes-Barré, dies at Norwichi, Connec- ticut.
-December 30. The " Decree of Trenton " is rendered.
1783-April. Pennsylvania troops garrison Fort Wyoming, and its name is changed to Fort Dickinson.
-October. The Second Pennamite-Yankee War is begun.
-Alexander Patterson endeavors to change the name of Wilkes-Barré to " London- derry."
1784-March 15. The ice in the Susquelianna breaks up, and a very disastrous flood fol- lows. Wilkes-Barré is inundated.
-May. The Pennamites drive the majority of the Connecticut settlers from the val- ley by force.
-July 24. Many dwelling-houses in Wilkes-Barré are burnt to the ground by the Pennamites.
-August 2. The fight at Locust Hill occurs.
-September 28. Fort Dickinson is besieged by the Yankees.
-November 30. Fort Dickinson having been evacuated by the Pennamites is demol- ished by the Yankees, and the war is virtually ended.
1786-March. A scheme is on foot to erect a new State ("Westmoreland ") out of the Wyoming region.
-April 27. Gen. Ethan Allen comes to Wilkes-Barré from Vermont, intent on the " new State " project.
-September 25. An Act erecting the county of Luzerne out of a portion of the Wyoming region is passed by the General Assembly of Pennsylvania.
-October. The great "pumpkin " flood occurs.
1787-February 1. First election in Luzerne County-for Representative to Assembly, Councillor, Sheriff, Coroner, and Commissioners-held at the house of Col. Zebulon Butler, Wilkes-Barré.
-March 28. The Confirming Law (relating to land titles in certain townships in the Wyoming region ) is enacted by the Pennsylvania Assembly.
-May 29. The first courts of Luzerne County are opened and held at the house of Col. Zebulon Butler, Wilkes-Barré.
-October 2. Col. John Franklin is arrested in Wilkes-Barré and conveyed to Phila- delphia.
1788-May. The erection of the first Luzerne County Court House and Jail is begun on the Public Square.
-June 26. Col. Timothy Pickering is abducted from his home on South Main Street and carried away captive.
1790-March 18. Jemima Wilkinson, "the Universal Friend," visits and preaches in Wilkes-Barré.
-April 1. The Confirming Law, having been suspended March 29, 1788, is repealed by the State Assembly.
1792-March. A delegation of Oneida Indians, en route from New York State to a con- ference with the Secretary of War at Philadelphia, is entertained in Wilkes- Barré. .
1794-September. Capt. Samuel Bowman marches from Wilkes-Barré with his company of Light Infantry, raised for the provisional military force organized by the State to put down the " Whisky Insurrection."
1795-July. A Post Office is established at Wilkes-Barré.
.
14
1796-First newspaper, The Herald of the Times ( weekly), published in Wilkes-Barré. 1797-July. The Duke of Orleans (later Louis Philippe, King of France) and his broth- ers, the Duke of Montpensier and the Count of Beaujolais, visit Wilkes-Barré.
-December 26. John Wilkes, one of the two men for whom Wilkes-Barré was named, dies in England.
1799-April 4. The Pennsylvania Legislature enacts the "Compromise Law," relating to lands lying " in the seventeen townships, Luzerne County."
-- July. Capt. Samuel Bowman, holding a commission in the " Provisional Army " being organized by the United States for the anticipated war with France, is raising a company of infantry at Wilkes-Barré. A detachment of thirty men marches to Elizabethtown, New Jersey.
-December 27. Public exercises held in the Court House in memory of General Washington, whose death occurred at Mt. Vernon December 14.
1800-July. Erection begun on Public Square of a meeting-house-many years later known as "Old Ship Zion."
1801-Erection begun on Public Square of the second Luzerne County Court House.
-March 4. Democrats celebrate by a procession and barbecue the election and inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as President of the United States.
1802-Erection begun of stone jail on East Market Street.
-July 20. Isaac Barré, one of the two men for whom Wilkes-Barré was named, dies in London.
1805-Easton and Wilkes-Barré Turnpike in process of construction.
1806-March 17. Borough of Wilkes-Barré incorporated by Act of Legislature.
-August 18. Wilkes-Barré Library Company organized.
-October 16. First elephant show in Wilkes-Barré.
1807-First brick building in Wilkes-Barré erected.
-- March. Wilkes-Barré Academy incorporated, and opened a few months later.
1808-February 11. Jesse Fell burns anthracite coal in an open grate for the first time in North-eastern Pennsylvania.
1810-September. First bank ("Philadelphia Branch") begins operations in Wilkes- Barré.
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