Editing Pittston Township, Pennsylvania (section)

===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.