Editing Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (section)

====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>