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===18th century=== {{Further|Battle of Wyoming|Pennamite–Yankee Wars|State of Westmoreland|Sugarloaf Massacre|Sullivan Expedition}} [[File:Early Localization Native Americans NY.svg|thumb|Map of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American tribes]] in the region before the arrival of European settlers]] [[File:Penncolony.png|thumb|A 1776 map of the [[Province of Pennsylvania]] and competing land claims at the time]] [[File:ChappelWyomingMassacre.jpg|thumb|The July 3, 1778 [[Battle of Wyoming]] depicted in an 1858 painting by [[Alonzo Chappel]]]] [[File:A Map Of The State Of Pennsylvania by Reading Howell, 1792.jpg|thumb|A 1792 map of Pennsylvania when [[Bradford County, Pennsylvania|Bradford]], [[Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania|Lackawanna]], [[Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania|Susquehanna]], and [[Wyoming County, Pennsylvania|Wyoming]] were still part of Luzerne County]] Long an area occupied by indigenous peoples, by the 1700s the [[Wyoming Valley]] was inhabited by several Native American tribes including the [[Susquehannock]], who spoke an [[Iroquoian language]], and the [[Lenape|Delaware]] (Lenape), who spoke an [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian language]]. In the mid-18th century, [[Connecticut Colony|Connecticut]] [[settler]]s of primarily English ancestry ventured into the valley. These were the first recorded [[Europeans]] in the region. Some came as [[missionary work|missionaries]] to the Native American peoples, while others came to farm the fertile land near the [[Susquehanna River]]. Ultimately, the violence of the [[French and Indian War]] (the North American front of the [[Seven Years' War]] between Great Britain and France) drove these Connecticut settlers away.<ref>{{cite book | last = Fisher | first = Sydney George | title = The Making of Pennsylvania | url = https://archive.org/details/makingofpennsylv00fish | publisher = J. B. Lippincott Company | location = Philadelphia, PA| year = 1896}}</ref> The [[British colonization of the Americas|British colonies]] of [[Province of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] and Connecticut both claimed the Wyoming Valley as their own. [[Charles II of England|King Charles II of England]] had granted the land to the Connecticut Colony in 1662, but also to [[William Penn]], the founder of Pennsylvania, in 1681. In 1769, [[Yankee]] settlers from Connecticut returned to the valley and founded the town of [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre]]. However, they were not alone. Pennsylvanian settlers (Pennamites) were also in the region. Armed bands of Pennamites harassed the Connecticut settlers in what is known as the [[Pennamite-Yankee Wars]]. While the land dispute continued, a much larger conflict began. In 1775, the [[Thirteen Colonies]] [[American Revolutionary War|began a war of independence]] against the colonial power of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]. Residents of both Pennsylvania and Connecticut were largely loyal to the [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] cause, which supported the [[American Revolution]] and independence. On June 30, 1778, [[Loyalists|Loyalist]] forces, under the command of Major [[John Butler (Ranger)|John Butler]], arrived in the Wyoming Valley to attack the rebel American settlements. On July 1, Fort Wintermoot at the north end of the valley surrendered without a shot being fired. The next morning the smaller Fort Jenkins surrendered. Both forts were later burned to the ground. The [[Patriot (American Revolution)|Patriot]] militia assembled at [[Forty Fort]]. On July 3, a column of roughly 375 men, including a company of soldiers from the [[Continental Army]], marched from the fort under the command of Lieutenant Colonel [[Zebulon Butler]] and Colonel Nathan Denison. [[Butler's Rangers]], with the assistance of about 500 Native American allies, mostly [[Seneca people|Seneca]], ambushed the approaching Americans. In the end, nearly 300 Wyoming Valley Patriots were killed during the [[Battle of Wyoming]].<ref name="Williams">{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Glenn F. |title=Year of the Hangman: George Washington's Campaign Against the Iroquois. |date=2005 |publisher=Westholme |location=Yardley, Pennsylvania |isbn=9781594160134 |url=https://archive.org/details/yearofhangmangeo0000will |url-access=registration}}</ref> Today, in the Borough of [[Wyoming, Pennsylvania|Wyoming]], a [[Wyoming Monument|monument]] marks the gravesite of the victims from the battle.<ref name="Jenkins">{{cite speech|url=http://www.inman-family.org/documents/battlewyo.htm|title=Historical Address at the Wyoming Monument | first=Steuben |last=Jenkins|date=July 3, 1878|event=100th Anniversary of the Battle and Massacre of Wyoming|access-date=July 2, 2013}}</ref> The next day, Colonel Denison surrendered Forty Fort along with several other posts. Widespread looting and burning of buildings occurred throughout the Wyoming Valley subsequent to this capitulation, but non-combatants were not harmed.<ref name="Williams" /> Most of the inhabitants, however, fled across the [[Pocono Mountains]] to [[Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania|Stroudsburg]] and [[Easton, Pennsylvania|Easton]], or down the [[Susquehanna River]] to [[Sunbury, Pennsylvania|Sunbury]]. In September 1778, American Colonel [[Thomas Hartley]] took partial revenge for the Wyoming defeat. He and his 200 soldiers burned a number of villages in [[Delaware]] along the [[Susquehanna River]]. The following year, Major General [[John Sullivan (general)|John Sullivan]] would lead several thousand men in a scorched-earth [[Sullivan Expedition|campaign]] against the Iroquois nations in central and western New York.<ref name="Williams" /> Two years later, in September 1780, reports of Iroquois and Loyalist activity in the region resulted in a detachment of 41 Patriot militia from [[Northampton County, Pennsylvania|Northampton County]] being sent to investigate. The detachment made it as far north as present-day [[Conyngham, Pennsylvania|Conyngham]] when they were ambushed by a party of Seneca and Loyalists. Ten men were killed in what is now known as the [[Sugarloaf massacre|Sugarloaf Massacre]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Verenna |first1=Thomas |title=Murder along the Creek: Taking a Closer Look at the Sugarloaf Massacre. |url=https://allthingsliberty.com/2015/07/murder-along-the-creek-taking-a-closer-look-at-the-sugarloaf-massacre/ |website=Journal of the American Revolution |date=July 6, 2015 |access-date=26 February 2023}}</ref> ====Post-Revolutionary War==== The American Revolutionary War ended three years later (in 1783) with the signing of the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]]. Great Britain finally recognized the [[sovereignty]] of the United States of America. The land dispute between Pennsylvania and Connecticut continued after the war. Connecticut established its own county (by the name of [[Westmoreland County, Connecticut|Westmoreland]]) in the Wyoming Valley. However, Pennsylvania insisted that they owned the land. The [[Congress of the Confederation]] was asked to resolve the matter. With the Trenton Decree, on December 30, 1782, the confederation government officially decided that the region belonged to Pennsylvania; the Wyoming Valley became part of [[Northumberland County, Pennsylvania|Northumberland County]]. Pennsylvania ruled that the Connecticut settlers, also known as the Yankees, were not citizens of the Commonwealth. They could not vote and were ordered to give up their property claims. In May 1784, armed men from Pennsylvania force-marched the Connecticut settlers away from the valley. By November, the Yankees returned with a greater force. They captured and destroyed [[Fort Dickinson]] in Wilkes-Barre. With that victory, a new state (which was separate from both Connecticut and Pennsylvania) was proposed. The new state was to be named [[State of Westmoreland|Westmoreland]]. To ensure that they didn't lose the land, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania worked out a compromise with the Connecticut (Yankee) settlers. The Yankee settlers would be allowed to become citizens of Pennsylvania and their property claims would be restored (as existing prior to the Decree of Trenton). As part of the compromise, Pennsylvania would establish a new county in [[Northeastern Pennsylvania]]. The Yankees agreed to the terms.<ref name=luzernecounty>{{cite web|title=Second Yankee-Pennamite War|url=http://www.luzernecounty.org/living/history_of_luzerne_county|website=Luzerne County|access-date=December 23, 2014|ref=luzernecounty|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327175011/http://www.luzernecounty.org/living/history_of_luzerne_county|archive-date=March 27, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> On September 25, 1786, the [[Pennsylvania General Assembly]] passed a resolution that created Luzerne County. It was formed from a section of Northumberland County and named after [[Chevalier de la Luzerne]], a [[French Army|French soldier]] and diplomat to the American rebels and new government of the independent USA during the late 18th century. Wilkes-Barre was designated as the [[county seat|seat of government]] for the new territory. This resolution ended the idea of creating a new state. When it was founded, Luzerne County occupied a large portion of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The future counties of [[Bradford County, Pennsylvania|Bradford]], [[Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania|Lackawanna]], [[Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania|Susquehanna]], and [[Wyoming County, Pennsylvania|Wyoming]] were all part of the original Luzerne County.<ref name="auto" /><ref name="pawchs.org" /> In the following years, elections were held, the courts were established, a courthouse was constructed, and a government was formed. In 1787, Lord Butler was elected the first [[sheriff]] of Luzerne County. A [[County commission|board of commissioners]] was also assembled to manage the county government. Some of the first county commissioners included Jesse Fell, Alexander Johnson, John Phillips, John Jenkins, and Thomas Wright (from 1794 to 1796).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/luzerne/1893hist/ |title=History of Luzerne County Pennsylvania 1893 |publisher=Usgwarchives.net |access-date=January 19, 2018}}</ref> The population of the new county grew rapidly with new migrants. In 1790, fewer than 2,000 people resided within the Wyoming Valley. By 1800, the number of residents increased to nearly 13,000.<ref name="luzernecounty.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.luzernecounty.org/living/history_of_luzerne_county|title=Luzerne County : History of Luzerne County|website=www.luzernecounty.org|access-date=April 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327175011/http://www.luzernecounty.org/living/history_of_luzerne_county|archive-date=March 27, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
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