Alan Sweeney

Scranton (Pa) (Images of America) Alan Sweeney

In 1840, George and Selden Scranton, with William Henry, established their iron furnaces on the banks of Roaring Brook in the wilderness of northeastern Pennsylvania. In 1847, they successfully mass-produced iron T rails and later emerged as the nation's third largest steel manufacturer. Anthracite, locomotives, silk, and lace soon followed. Scranton traces the growth of Slocum Hollow through its rising industrialization into its emergence as the bustling Electric City. In all its urban complexity, Scranton attracted European immigrants and cosmopolitan investors as well as labor leader John Mitchell and entertainer Buffalo Bill. Joseph Albright Jr., a Scranton-born philanthropist, endowed a public library, and Raymond Hood, the architect of Rockefeller Center, designed the Masonic Temple. The footprints of these achievements remain an enduring testament to this important industrial and cultural center.