Editing Pittston Township, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
[[File:Wyoming Forts.jpg|thumb|left|A 1778 map of [[Wyoming Valley]] forts; "G" represents the [[Battle of Wyoming|battlefield of Wyoming]]; and "J" represents Fort Pittstown or the Pittstown stockades.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lossing |first=Benson |title=The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldbookeleven01lossrich |publisher=Harper & Brothers, Publishers |year=1859 |page=[https://archive.org/details/fieldbookeleven01lossrich/page/353 353]}}</ref>]]

===Establishment=== 
Pittston Township was one of the five original townships formed under the Susquehanna Land Company of [[Connecticut]] (in the [[Wyoming Valley]]). It was originally known as Pittstown (named for [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|Sir William Pitt]], an English statesman). Each township was originally five square miles and divided amongst forty settlers. The township was surveyed in 1768. But, in 1784, flood waters destroyed the surveyor's marks and an act was passed for a new survey to take place. After being resurveyed, the township grew to nearly thirty-six square miles.

Zebulon Marcy was the first white settler to build a brush (or log) cabin in the township. Some may refer to him as the first settler. The other leading families in the township (prior to and during the [[American Revolution]]) were the Blanchards, Browns, Careys, Bennetts, Silsbeys, Marceys, Benedicts, St. Johns, Sawyers, and Coopers. Reverend Benedict was the first [[preacher]] in the locality. Captain Jeremiah Blanchard Sr. commanded the Pittston Company.

During the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]], [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] and [[Patriot (American Revolution)|American]] forces clashed within the Wyoming Valley. On the morning of July 4, 1778—after the surrender of [[Forty Fort]] to the British—British Officer [[John Butler (pioneer)|Butler]] sent a detachment across the [[Susquehanna River|river]] to Pittston and demanded the surrender of Fort Brown, which was commanded by Captain Blanchard. The fort capitulated on fair terms.

The first [[sawmill]] in the township was built near the mouth of the [[Lackawanna River|Lackawanna]] in 1780 by Solomon Finn and E. L. Stevens. Dr. Nathaniel Giddings was the first [[physician]] in the township. He came from Connecticut in 1787, and practiced medicine in the community until his death in 1851. He also set up one of the first [[orchards]] in the township.

===Coal mining===
[[Image:Knox Mine Flood area from USMSHA report.gif|thumb|Map of the [[Knox Mine disaster]] showing the inundated area and the shafts used for escape and dewatering]]
For sixty years, the Yankee element predominated the population of the township. When [[coal]] was discovered, a great migration of various European nationalities began. This influx is responsible for the heterogeneous population found in the township today. The [[coal mining|coal]] interests soon became the largest source of wealth in the township (although there was some valuable farmland in the small valleys). Col. James W. Johnson was one of the pioneers in the mining and shipping of coal. He sent considerable quantities down the river in "[[Ark (river boat)|arks]]" when this was the only mode of transportation.

McCarthyville, popularly known as Cork Lane, was once a mining village in Pittston Township. In 1892, the community consisted of 900 inhabitants and 140 dwellings. [[Browntown, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Browntown]], which neighbors Cork Lane, was another mining community in the township. In 1892, it consisted of nearly 1,000 residents and 200 dwellings. Pittston Township remained an active mining community for many decades. However, on January 22, 1959, the [[Knox Mine Disaster]] (in nearby [[Port Griffith, Pennsylvania|Port Griffith]]) shattered the industry when the Susquehanna River broke through and flooded most of the interconnected mines in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pagenweb.org/~luzerne/patk/pits.htm|title = Early Pittston, Luzerne Co., Pa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pittstontownship.org/about/3-history |title=History of Pittston Township |access-date=February 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225191737/http://pittstontownship.org/about/3-history |archive-date=February 25, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Airport===
[[Image:De Havilland Canada DHC-8-200 (Continental Connection) KAVP.jpg|thumb|The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Pittston Township.]]
As the United States entered the age of mass air transportation, [[Scranton, Pennsylvania|Scranton]] and [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre]] (the largest cities in Northeast Pennsylvania) recognized the need for a large-scale airport. Despite the [[Great Depression]] and hard times affecting the local coal mining industry, a windfall multimillion-dollar opportunity to plan and build a regional airport was presented to the counties of Luzerne and Lackawanna through their [[Public Works Administration]]. It became apparent that a modern airport would be needed for the economic survival of the region. The site in and around Pittston Township was first surveyed in 1939 by the county commissioners of both counties.

In 1941, John B. McDade, president of the Heidelberg Coal Company and father of [[United States House of Representatives|Congressman]] [[Joseph M. McDade]], donated 122 acres on which part of the airport now sits. Most of the land was previously owned by various coal companies. By 1945, the two counties entered into a legal agreement to co-sponsor and operate the airport. Between 1945 and 1947, construction of the [[Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport]] took place in and around Pittston Township. Today, the airport is known as the “Gateway to Northeastern Pennsylvania and the [[Pocono Mountains]].” It is the fifth busiest airport in Pennsylvania.

On April 20, 1985, a [[CT-39 Sabreliner]] crashed while attempting to land at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport; this resulted in the deaths of all five people on board (including [[General (United States)|General]] [[Jerome F. O'Malley]], the commander of [[Tactical Air Command]]).<ref>{{cite book|last=Casey|first=Aloysius G.|title=Velocity : speed with direction : the professional career of Gen Jerome F. O'Malley|url=https://archive.org/details/velocityspeedwit0000unse|url-access=registration|year=2007|publisher=Air University Press|location=Maxwell Air Force Base, AL|isbn=978-1585661695|pages=[https://archive.org/details/velocityspeedwit0000unse/page/247 247]–253|author2=Casey, Patrick A. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19850420-2|title=ASN Aircraft accident North American CT-39A-1-NO Sabreliner 62-4496 Wilkes-Barre International Airport, PA (AVP)|first=Harro|last=Ranter|website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>

==="Kids for cash" scandal===
{{Main|Kids for cash scandal|PA Child Care}}
The “kids for cash” scandal unfolded in 2008 over judicial [[kickbacks]] at the [[Luzerne County]] [[Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas|Court of Common Pleas]] in [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre]]. Two judges, President Judge [[Mark Ciavarella]] and Senior Judge [[Michael Conahan]], were convicted of accepting money from Robert Mericle, builder of two private, for-profit youth centers for the detention of juveniles, in return for contracting with the facilities and imposing harsh [[adjudication]]s on juveniles brought before their courts to increase the number of residents in the centers. One such center was [[PA Child Care]] in Pittston Township.<ref name="doj-charges">{{cite web|url=http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/pam/press_releases/Information-Ciavarella_Conahan-1_26_09.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220082050/http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/pam/press_releases/Information-Ciavarella_Conahan-1_26_09.pdf|archive-date=February 20, 2009|title=Text of U.S. Attorney's charges against Ciavarella and Conahan|date=January 26, 2009|publisher=[[United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania|U.S. Department of Justice for the Middle District of Pennsylvania]]|access-date=July 2, 2010}}</ref><ref name="wsj-frank">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123854010220075533|title=Thomas Frank Says 'Kids for Cash' Incentivizes the Prison Industry|last=Frank|first=Thomas|date=April 1, 2009|newspaper=[[Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=July 2, 2010}}</ref><ref name="urbina">{{cite news | title=Despite Red Flags, Judges Ran Kickback Scheme for Years | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/us/28judges.html?_r=1 |author=Urbina, Ian| newspaper=[[New York Times]] | date=March 27, 2009 | access-date=July 2, 2010}}</ref>

===Tornado===
An [[EF2 tornado]] struck [[Suscon, Pennsylvania|Suscon]] (Pittston Township) on Saturday, February 25, 2017.  This was the first recorded tornado in February for Luzerne County.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.pahomepage.com/news/pittston-township-tornado-damage/663235125|title = Pittston Township Tornado Damage|date = February 26, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wnep.com/2017/02/26/nws-confirms-tornado-hit-luzerne-county/|title = NWS Confirms Tornado Hit Luzerne, Lackawanna Counties| date=February 26, 2017 }}</ref>  The tornado generated top wind speeds of {{convert|120|mi/h|abbr=on}}, had a maximum width of {{convert|641|yards|m|abbr=on}}, and traveled {{convert|12.8|mi|km|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://timesleader.com/news/local/638143/tornado-touches-down-in-pittston-township|title = Tornado touched down in Pittston Township on Saturday, NWS confirms|date = February 26, 2017}}</ref>