Hazleton | |
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City | |
A view of Downtown Hazleton from the south
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Nickname(s): The Mountain City, Mob City, The Power City | |
Location within the state of Pennsylvania | |
Coordinates: 40°57′32″N 75°58′28″W / 40.95889°N 75.97444°WCoordinates: 40°57′32″N 75°58′28″W / 40.95889°N 75.97444°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Pennsylvania |
County | Luzerne |
Settled | 1780 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Jeff Cusat (R) |
Elevation | 1,689 ft (515 m) |
Population (2015 Census estimate) | |
• Total | 24,825 |
Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
ZIP codes | 18201, 18202 |
Area code(s) | 570 Exchanges: 450, 453, 454, 455, 459 |
FIPS code | 42-33408 |
Website | www |
Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census. The population of Greater Hazleton (the area in and around the city) was 77,187. Hazleton is the 2nd largest city in Luzerne County and the 17th largest city in Pennsylvania.
During the height of the American Revolution in the summer of 1780, British sympathizers (known as Tories) began attacking the outposts of American revolutionaries located along the Susquehanna River in the Wyoming Valley. Because of reports of Tory activity in the region, Captain Daniel Klader and a platoon of 41 men from Northampton County were sent to investigate. They traveled north from the Lehigh Valley along a path known as "Warrior's Trail" (which is present-day Pennsylvania Route 93). This route connects the Lehigh River in Jim Thorpe (formerly known as Mauch Chunk) to the Susquehanna River in Berwick.
Captain Klader's men made it as far north as present-day Conyngham when they were ambushed by Tory militiamen and members of the Seneca tribe. In all, 15 men were killed on September 11, 1780, in what is now known as the Sugarloaf Massacre.
The Moravians, a Christian denomination, had been using "Warrior's Trail" since the early 18th century after the Moravian missionary Nicolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf first used it to reach the Wyoming Valley. This particular stretch of "Warrior's Trail" had an abundance of hazel trees. Though the Moravians called the region "St. Anthony's Wilderness," it eventually became known as "Hazel Swamp," a name which had been used previously by the Indians. The Moravian missionaries were sent from their settlements in Bethlehem to the site of the Sugarloaf Massacre to bury the dead soldiers. Because of the aesthetic natural beauty of the Conyngham Valley, some Moravians decided to stay. In 1782, they built a settlement (St. Johns) along the Nescopeck Creek, which is near the present-day intersection of Interstates 80 and 81.