Wilkes Barre Chapter
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Communities in Common: Pennsylvania’s African American Historic Resources Target Community: Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County Page 1 of 37 Target Community #1: Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County Geographic Region: Eastern Tier/Northern Tier Pennsylvania Closest Urban Center: Philadelphia: 112 mi. New York City: 127 mi. USGS Quad(s) Wilkes-Barre West; Wilkes-Barre East Land Area: 7.2 sq. mi. UTM Point (central) 18 426822 4566537 Existing Historic Resource Data Municipality Survey: Date/# of resources identified 1978/ 1340 Number of Resources Identified in CRGIS: Wilkes-Barre City 1,432 Number of Resources Identified in CRGIS for association with Ethnic History/Afr. Am. 0 Number of Resources Identified in CRGIS and identified in this survey 0 African American Historic Resource Data Year(s) surveyed 2008; 2009 Summary Statistics Number of Resource Type Community Properties Districts Buildings Sites Unknown 4 11 5 11 Wilkes-Barre 31 (12.9%) (35.5%) (16.1%) (35.5%) Number of Status Community Properties Intact Altered Demolished Unknown Wilkes-Barre 31 6 1 9 15 Number of Associated Property Type Community Properties 1 2 3 4 5 Wilkes-Barre 31 2 10 12 6 5 Summary Area History Significant Dates 1806: Borough Incorporation 1871: City Incorporation 1916: Flood 1940: Flood 1972: Hurricane Agnes Flood Principal Era(s) of African Reconstruction Era American Settlement: Primary Industry: Anthracite Coal Garment/Hosiery Railroad Primary African American Common labor, esp. masonry Occupations: Domestic services Mining, but not as a miner Garment Social/Benevolent/Fraternal Odd Fellows: Anthracite No. 1629/Household of Ruth Communities in Common: Pennsylvania’s African American Historic Resources Target Community: Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County Page 2 of 37 Organizations: Masonic: Golden Rule No. 15/Eastern Star Elks: Diamond City American Legion: Patterson Post G.A.R.: Keith Post 444 Political Clubs: Hayes & Wheeler Club; Garfield & Arthur Club Women’s Clubs: Mother’s Club; Mary P. Dennis Club YMCA: Beta Chapter, Phalanx Fraternity NAACP Chapter Education: “Colored School” (19 th century, demolished) Hill Street School (20 th century, now church) G.A.R. High School (20 th century) Location Disadvantage: Rail lines; flood plain Community Intact or Altered: Altered Nature of Major Alteration: Urban Redevelopment, both infrastructure and housing Census Data Year Total Number of African Americans % of Population 1790 (total county) 4,904 24 0.5% 1800 (as township) 835 10 free, 3 slave 1.5% 1810 (as township) 1,225 30 2.4% 1820 (as borough) 755 23 3.0% 1830 (combined) 2,232 83 3.7% 1840 (as borough) 1,718 18 1.0% 1850 2,602 121 4.6% 1860 (combined) 4,094 159 3.9% 1870 10,174 416 4.0% 1880 23,339 609 2.6% 1890 37,718 596 1.6% 1900 51,721 685 1.3% 1910 67,105 673 1.0% 1920 73,833 552 0.7% 1930 86,626 877 1.0% Primary Sources Local Contact/Liaison: Watson Sources Collected: “Afrolumens” website: www.afrolumens.org. Accessed in 2008 and 2009 for information about central Pennsylvania communities. Beard, Shirley and Donald M. Cannon. Characteristics of Negro Households in Luzerne County . Wilkes-Barre, PA: Commission on Economic Opportunity of Luzerne County, 1968. Bradsby, H.C. History of Luzerne County . Chicago: H.B. Nelson & Co, 1893. City of Wilkes-Barre, PA. 1975 Revision to the Housing Element of the Communities in Common: Pennsylvania’s African American Historic Resources Target Community: Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County Page 3 of 37 Comprehensive Plan of the City of Wilkes-Barre . Wilkes-Barre, PA: City, 1975. Dudley, Barbara. “Blacks in the Ethnic Maze” from Ethnic Heritage Studies: Papers of the Institute at King’s College, 1975. Hartmann, Edward George, PhD. “The Ethnic History of the Wyoming Valley (Wilkes-Barre), PA – an Overview.” Unpublished manuscript in the E.S. Farley Library, Wilkes College, Wilkes-Barre, PA: 1987. Harvey, Oscar Jewel. A History of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County . Wilkes- Barre, PA: Raeder Press, 1909. Moss, Emerson. African Americans in the Wyoming Valley . Wilkes-Barre, PA: Wilkes University Press, 1992. Mussari, Anthony. Appointment with Disaster . Wilkes-Barre, PA: Northeast Publishers, ca. 1974. Patience, Alice Patterson. Bittersweet Memories of Home . Wilkes-Barre, PA: Wilkes University Press, 1999. Patience, Alice Patterson. Bittersweet Memories of Home, Book II . Wilkes- Barre, PA: Wilkes University Press, 2001. Patterson, Christine. “A Historical Overview: The Black Experience in Wyoming Valley.” Unpublished manuscript, not dated. Smith, Eric Ledell. “The African American Community of Wilkes- Barre, 1870-1900”. Lecture, 12 th Annual Conference on the History of Northeastern Pennsylvania: The Last 100 Years. October 27, 2000. Vertical Subject Files, Wyoming Historical and Genealogical Society Vertical Subject Files, Historical Society of Luzerne County Vertical Subject Files, Osterhout Free Library Atlas/Other Maps: 1874, Atlas of Wilkes-Barre, PA , Sturdevant 1882, Atlas of the City of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County , F.B.Roe. 1889, Panoramic Atlas of Wilkes-Barre 1898, Wyoming Valley Guide Co. Relevant Sanborn Maps: 1884, 1891, 1910, 1950 Mapable Census Years: 1910, 1920, 1930 Aerial Photographs: PennPilot: 1939, 1959, 1969 Dallin Aerial Images: 1931, 1940 Wilkes-Barre Coverage in Wilkes-Barre Advocate African American Newspapers: New York Amsterdam News Pittsburg Courier Chicago Defender Associated Oral History: Watson, J.D. and Gloria Wynn, Connie Source Title Data Citation Pennsylvania Negro Business Directory /1910 Yes Pages 119-124 Communities in Common: Pennsylvania’s African American Historic Resources Target Community: Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County Page 4 of 37 Note: Much of the data provided in this directory cannot be confirmed through other primary sources. The Negro In Pennsylvania /1911 No Negro Migration in 1916-17 /1919 No Negro Survey of Pennsylvania /1928 Yes Census data/regional data only Negro Year Book and Directory /1932 Yes Pages 19-24 City Directories: N/A Miscellanea Note #1: Wilkes-Barre’s geographical orientation can be somewhat confusing, and its directional locations appear to be at odds with the cardinal directions. The city is situated on the southeast side of the Susquehanna River as it flows in a southwesterly direction across northeastern Pennsylvania. The city is unofficially divided into “North” and “South” sections with Market Street as the boundary. Within each section, there are “East” and “West” areas with Main Street as the boundary. When working with maps of Wilkes-Barre, because of the city’s positioning along the river, the tendency is to consider the east and west streets as north and south streets, and vice versa. Note #2: The names and patterns of Wilkes-Barre’s infrastructure have changed significantly since the mid 19 th century. Many of the resources identified in Wilkes-Barre survive as sites of demolished buildings along roads that have been abandoned. Complicating efforts to locate these razed sites is the frequent name changes between the late 19 th and mid 20 th centuries. Please keep in mind the following when reviewing the survey data: • South State Street no longer exists as a thoroughfare and survives as part of the downtown land bank as parking lots and improved parcels of land associated with larger properties along S. Washington Street. Originally this section of road extended from Market Street to Ross Street between S. Washington Street and S. Pennsylvania Avenue. The 100 and 200 blocks would have existed between E. Market St. and W. Northampton Street, the 300 and 400 blocks between W. Northampton and E. South St., and the 500 block between E. South St. and W. Ross Street. This length of State Street was vacated in the early 1970s as urban renewal and flood reparations drastically changed the context and appearance of center city Wilkes-Barre. • The following streets have been renamed: Historic Current Mechanic’s Alley South State Street South Fells Street South State Street Canal Street Pennsylvania Ave. Lincoln Street Wilkes-Barre Blvd. Communities in Common: Pennsylvania’s African American Historic Resources Target Community: Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County Page 5 of 37 Specific Resources Name Resource Type/Function Location APT Status Iron Triangle and Heights Neighborhoods District/Domestic Wilkes-Barre 3, 5 Altered Lincoln Plaza District/Domestic Wilkes-Barre 5 Intact Okarma Terrace District/Domestic Wilkes-Barre 5 Intact Building/Recreation and Southside YMCA Culture; Social Wilkes-Barre 3 Demolished YWCA Building/Recreation Wilkes-Barre 3 Demolished Bethel African Methodist Church Building/Religion Wilkes-Barre 3 Intact A.M.E. Zion Building/Religion Wilkes-Barre 3 Demolished Mt. Zion Baptist Church Building/Religion Wilkes-Barre 3 Demolished “Colored School” Building/Education Wilkes-Barre 3 Demolished Church of the Covenant Building/Religion Wilkes-Barre 3 Demolished District/Commerce Trade; S. State Street Residential Domestic; Recreation and Wilkes-Barre 2, 3, 4, 5 Demolished and Commercial Blocks Culture C. Edgar Patience Res. Building/Recreation and Wilkes-Barre 4 Intact and Workshop Culture Hill Street School Building/Education Wilkes-Barre 3 Intact “Coon Hollow” Site/Domestic; Commerce Wilkes-Barre 2, 5 Demolished Mineral Art Company Site/Commerce Trade Wilkes-Barre 2 Unknown Freeman’s Restaurant and Grocery /Commerce Trade Wilkes-Barre 2 Unknown Residence and Office of Dr. C. Nurse /Commerce Trade Wilkes-Barre 2 Unknown Harry B. Patience Store /Commerce Trade Wilkes-Barre 2 Unknown Communities in Common: Pennsylvania’s African American Historic