Wyoming Valley, c.20 mi (30 km) long and 3 to 4 mi (4.8-6.4 km) wide, in Luzerne co., NE Pa., through which flows the Susquehanna River. Wilkes-Barre is the major city of this once-rich anthracite coal region. The valley was the scene of a long contest between Connecticut and Pennsylvania over conflicting land claims based on 17th-century charters. After the Susquehanna Company purchased (1754) land there at the Albany Congress, a temporary settlement of the region in 1762-63 led to the first permanent settlement in 1769 and the building soon after of Forty Fort. The First Pennamite War (1769-71) between the Connecticut and Pennsylvania settlers ensued, but rapid settlement of the area continued. In 1774, Connecticut set up the town of Westmoreland, from which representatives were sent to the Connecticut legislature. During the American Revolution, the valley settlers were attacked (1778) by Loyalist commander John Butler and a party of Tories and Iroquois allies; nearly 400 men, women, and children were killed. The massacre is described in Thomas Campbell's poem, Gertrude of Wyoming (1809). In 1782 a Continental Congress court of arbitration decided to grant the land in favor of Pennsylvania, but the Connecticut settlers refused to leave, and the Second Pennamite War (1784) ensued. Finally, through the Compromise Act of 1799, the Pennsylvania legislature secured a means of settlement with the Connecticut claimants.
Wyoming Valley
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- This article refers to the valley region in Pennsylvania. A lesser-known Wyoming Valley exists in western New York in Wyoming County, where the valley of Oatka Creek is commonly known as the Wyoming Valley and includes the villages of Wyoming and Warsaw.
Wyoming Valley is a region of northeastern Pennsylvania. The valley is a crescent-shaped depression, a part of the ridge-and-valley or folded Appalachians. The valley includes and is generally centered on the metropolitan area of Pittston and Wilkes-Barre. The Susquehanna River does occupy the entire valley.
The valley is notable for its deposits of anthracite which have been extensively mined. Deep mining has declined, however, following the Knox Mine Disaster when the roof of a mine under the river collapsed and the Susquehanna flowed into the mine, flooding it and drowning miners.
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Metropolitan area
The Wilkes-Barre Metropolitan Statistical Area covers Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming counties.[1] It had a combined population of 560,625 at the 2000 census.[2][page needed] The area also has the highest percentage of non-Hispanic whites of any U.S. metropolitan area with a population over 500,000, with 96.2% of the population stating their race as white alone and not claiming Hispanic ethnicity.[3]
History
According to the Jesuit Relation of 1635, the Wyoming Valley was inhabited by the Scahentoarrhonon people; it was known as the Scahentowanen Valley. By 1744 it was inhabited by Lenape, Mahican, Shawnee and others. Pennsylvania and Connecticut's conflicting claims to the territory in the 18th century led to military skirmishes known as the Pennamite Wars. The conflict arose from the fact that King Charles II of England had granted the land to Connecticut in 1662, and also to William Penn in 1681. Yankee settlers from Connecticut arrived in the area and founded the town of Wilkes-Barre in 1769. Armed bands of Pennsylvanians (Pennamites) tried without success to expel them in 1769-70, and again in 1775.
During the American Revolution the area was the site of the Battle of Wyoming on July 3, 1778, in which more than three hundred Revolutionaries died at the hands of Loyalist and their Iroquois allies. The incident was famously depicted by the Scottish poet Thomas Campbell in his 1809 poem Gertrude of Wyoming. At the time, it was widely believed that the attack was led by Joseph Brant; in the poem, Brant is described as the "Monster Brant" because of the atrocities committed, although it was later determined that Brant had not actually been present. The popularity of the poem may have led to the state of Wyoming being named after the valley.
Another theory holds that the territory which would come to be known as 'Wyoming' was founded by emigrants from Pennsylvania's Wyoming Valley.
See also
References
- ^ METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREAS AND COMPONENTS, Office of Management and Budget, 2007-05-11. Accessed 2008-07-30.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Percent Non-Hispanic White, 2000: Metros Ranked by Percent of Population Selecting Race of Non-Hispanic/Latino, White Alone". CensusScope.org. http://www.censusscope.org/us/metro_rank_race_nonhispaniclatino_white.html. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
The following printed resources are in the collection of the Connecticut State Library (CSL)
- Boyd, J. P. The Susquehanna Company, 1753-1803. [CSL call number: F157 .W9 B69 1931]
- Henry, William (ed.). Documents Relating to the Connecticut Settlement in the Wyoming Valley. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 1990 [CSL call number: F157 .W9 D63 1990 v1, 2].
- Joyce, Mary Hinchcliffe. Pioneer Days in the Wyoming Valley. Philadelphia: 1928 [CSL call number: F157 .W9 J89].
- Smith, William. An Examination of the Connecticut Claim to Lands in Pennsylvania: With an Appendix, Containing Extracts and Copies Taken from Original Papers. Philadelphia: Joseph Crukshank, 1774 [CSL call number: Wells Collection F157 .W9 S55].
- Stark, S. Judson. The Wyoming Valley: Probate Records... Wilkes-Barre, PA: Wyoming Historical and Geological Society, 1923 [CSL call number: F157 .W9 S72].
- Warfle, Richard Thomas. Connecticut's Western Colony; the Susquehannah Affair. (Connecticut Bicentennial Series, #32). Hartford, CT: American Revolutionary Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut, 1979 [CSL call number: Conn Doc Am35 cb num 32].
- Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Wilkes-Barre (the "Diamond City"), Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Wilkes-Barre, PA: The Committee on Souvenir and Program, 1906 [CSL call number: F159 .W6 W65 1906].
External links
- Connecticut's "Susquehanna Settlers"
- History of the Wilkes-Barre area
- Sullivanclinton.com - the full historical context
- Sullivanclinton.com - Wyoming Valley today
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
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- Zebulon Butler (American military leader)
- John Jenkins (American pioneer)
- Susquehanna Company (organization, Connecticut – in history, business)
- John Butler (American military leader)
- John Durkee (American pioneer & military leader)
- Eliphalet Dyer (American jurist)
- Wyoming Valley, Settlement of (American history)
- Wilkes-Barre (city, Pennsylvania)
- Timothy Pickering (American politician & military leader)
- Mahican (American history)
- Continental Congress (organization, United States – in government, history)
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