Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania: History
Lackawanna County is a region that was developed for iron production and anthracite coal mining in the nineteenth century, with its peak of coal production reached in the mid-20th century. Scranton, then still part of Luzerne County, became a center of mining and industry. It was the site of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, which later began to produce steel using the Bessemer process. In 1877 at the time of the Scranton General Strike, the company was managed by William Walker Scranton, whose father had been president until his death in 1872. Two of his cousins had been founders of the company and the city.
The county was created on August 13, 1878, following decades of trying to gain its independence from Luzerne County. (The courts were organized in October 1878.) It is Pennsylvania's last county to be created, and the only one created after the American Civil War. It is named for the Lackawanna River.