Editing Hazle Township, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
===Establishment===
[[Lenape|Delaware]] and [[Seneca people|Seneca]] tribes traveled through what is now southern Luzerne County to trade with other [[Native American in the United States|Native American]] settlements in [[New York (state)|New York]] and the [[Chesapeake Bay]] area. The most common route for the Native Americans was known as "Warriors Path", which was also used by white settlers in the 18th century. Broad Street ([[Pennsylvania Route 93|PA 93]]) is roughly the location of the trail.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hazletownship.com/index.php/area/history-of-hazle-township|title=History of Hazle Township, Luzerne County, PA &#124; Area}}</ref>

[[Moravian church|Moravian]] [[missionaries]] were among the first [[Europeans]] to travel to the region; they wanted to convert Native Americans to [[Christianity]]. The Hazleton area was then a shallow valley with an abundance of [[hazel]] trees. It is speculated that the Native Americans were the first to refer to the area as "Hazle Swamp."

===Coal mining===
[[File:Wrau-lattimer-colliery.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Lattimer, Pennsylvania|Lattimer]] [[Colliery]] in 1890]]
At the beginning of the 19th century, [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] abandoned their territory in the [[Thirteen Colonies|east]] while European settlers continued to move into the region. 

In 1804, a private company widened "Warriors Path", which was renamed the Berwick Turnpike. As a result, [[logging]] became the major industry in the area. Logging remained the largest industry in southern Luzerne County until the 1830s, when [[anthracite coal]] was discovered under the land that had been cleared. In 1836, the first [[coal mines|mines]] and settlements were established in present-day Hazle Township.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hazletownship.com/index.php/area/history-of-hazle-township|title = History of Hazle Township, Luzerne County, PA &#124; Area}}</ref>

Hazle Township was formed from a section of [[Sugarloaf Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Sugarloaf Township]] in 1839; in 1856, a portion of [[Butler Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Butler Township]] was added to Hazle Township.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pagenweb.org/~luzerne/patk/hazleton.htm|title = Early History of Lower Luzerne County, Pa}}</ref> By the mid-19th century, the territory had changed dramatically from its early days. The expanding coal industry led to more extensive roads, railroads, and housing settlements. [[Immigrants]], mostly from Europe, came to Greater Hazleton by the thousands to work in the dangerous mines. For the next century, large amounts of coal from Hazle Township were shipped by train to the lucrative [[Philadelphia]] market.

====Lattimer Massacre====
{{main|Lattimer massacre}}
[[File:Lattimer massacre.jpg|thumb|left|Mine workers began their protest march near Harwood; 19 were later killed by the Luzerne County sheriff in the [[Lattimer massacre]].]]
On September 10, 1897, about 300 to 400 unarmed strikers, nearly all of [[Slovaks]] and [[Germans]], marched to a coal mine owned by [[Calvin Pardee]] (in the town of [[Lattimer, Pennsylvania|Lattimer]] in Hazle Township) to support a newly formed UMW union. The demonstrators were confronted by law enforcement officials several times on the road; they were ordered to disperse, but kept marching.

The deputies had spent most of the morning joking about how many miners they would kill.<ref name="Novak">[[Michael Novak|Novak, Michael]]. ''The Guns of Lattimer''. Reprint ed. New York: Transaction Publishers, 1996; {{ISBN|1-56000-764-8}}</ref> While on a streetcar headed for Lattimer (with the sheriff and his comrades), one deputy was overheard saying "I bet I drop six of them when I get over there."

When the demonstrators reached Lattimer at 3:45 pm, they were met again by the sheriff and 150 armed deputies. Sources differ on the number of deputies present. One source claims only 86 deputies confronted the marchers. Sheriff Martin ordered the marchers to disperse, and then attempted to grab an American flag out of the hands of the lead marcher. A scuffle ensued, and the police opened fire on the unarmed crowd. Nineteen miners died, and anywhere from 17 to 49 others wounded. All had been shot in the back, and several had multiple gunshot wounds which indicated that they had been targeted by the deputies.<ref name="Anderson">Anderson, John W. ''Transitions: From Eastern Europe to Anthracite Community to College Classroom.'' Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, 2005; {{ISBN|0-595-33732-5}}</ref><ref name="Miller">Miller, Randall M. and Pencak, William. ''Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth.'' State College, Penn.: Penn State Press, 2003; {{ISBN|0-271-02214-0}}</ref><ref name="Wounded">Estimates of the number of wounded are inexact. They range from a low of 17 wounded (Duwe, Grant. ''Mass Murder in the United States: A History''. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2007; {{ISBN|0-7864-3150-4}}) to as many as 49 injured (DeLeon, Clark. ''Pennsylvania Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities & Other Offbeat Stuff.'' 3rd rev. ed. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot, 2008; {{ISBN|0-7627-4588-6}}). Other estimates include:
*30 wounded (Lewis, Ronald L. ''Welsh Americans: A History of Assimilation in the Coalfields.'' Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 2008; {{ISBN|0-8078-3220-0}})
*32 wounded (Anderson, ''Transitions: From Eastern Europe to Anthracite Community to College Classroom,'' 2005; Berger, Stefan; Croll, Andy; and Laporte, Norman. ''Towards a Comparative History of Coalfield Societies.'' Aldershot, Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2005; {{ISBN|0-7546-3777-8}}; Campion, Joan. ''Smokestacks and Black Diamonds: A History of Carbon County, Pennsylvania''. Easton, Penn.: Canal History and Technology Press, 1997; {{ISBN|0-930973-19-4}})
*35 wounded (Foner, Philip S. ''First Facts of American Labor: A Comprehensive Collection of Labor Firsts in the United States.'' New York: Holmes & Meier, 1984; {{ISBN|0-8419-0742-0}}; Miller and Pencak, ''Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth,'' 2003; Derks, Scott. ''Working Americans, 1880–2006: Volume VII: Social Movements.'' Amenia, NY: Grey House Publishing, 2006; {{ISBN|1-59237-101-9}})
*38 wounded (Weir, Robert E. and Hanlan, James P. ''Historical Encyclopedia of American Labor, Vol. 1.'' Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Press, 2004; {{ISBN|0-313-32863-3}})
*39 wounded ([[Long, Priscilla]]. ''[[Where the Sun Never Shines: A History of America's Bloody Coal Industry]].'' Minneapolis: Paragon House, 1989; {{ISBN|1-55778-224-5}}; Novak, Michael. ''The Guns of Lattimer.'' Reprint ed. New York: Transaction Publishers, 1996; {{ISBN|1-56000-764-8}})
*40 wounded (Beers, Paul B. ''The Pennsylvania Sampler: A Biography of the Keystone State and Its People''. Mechanicsburg, Penn.: Stackpole Books, 1970).<!-- ISBN/ISSN needed --></ref>

===20th century===
[[File:Laurel Mall Hazelton, PA (16621521093).jpg|thumb|[[Laurel Mall (Pennsylvania)|Laurel Mall]] in Hazle Township]]
The population of Hazle Township peaked at nearly 15,000 residents in the early 20th century. By the 1940s, the population began to dwindle; this was the result of the declining coal industry. Many mines closed in the 1940s and 1950s. Many residents were forced to seek jobs elsewhere.

Although the region was in the midst of an economic recession, local leaders were determined to turn the economy around. CAN-DO (Community Area New Development Organization) was formally organized in 1956 by founder Dr. Edgar L. Dessen. It was founded to bring new industry into the area. Their first priority was to raise money—through their "Dime a Week" campaign—in which area residents were encouraged to put a dime on their sidewalk each week to be collected by CAN-DO.

The company raised over $250,000 and was able to purchase over 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land, which was converted into an [[industrial park]]. CAN-DO was responsible for establishing the Valmont, Humboldt, and McAdoo industrial parks. CAN-DO also founded a white-collar business park in the late 1990s; it was named the CAN-DO Corporate Center, located in nearby Drums. Today, retail development and housing construction are on the rise in Hazle Township.