Editing Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (section)

===20th century===
{{Further|Coal strike of 1902|Laurel Run mine fire|Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster|Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins|Knox Mine Disaster|Hurricane Agnes}}
[[File:Child Labor in United States, coal mines Pennsylvania.jpg|thumb|Children working in [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre]] coal mine in 1906]]
[[File:Group of Breaker boys. Smallest is Sam Belloma.jpg|thumb|[[Breaker boy]]s in [[Pittston, Pennsylvania|Pittston]] in January 1911]]
[[File:Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster marker.jpg|thumb|Historical marker of the June 5, 1919 [[Baltimore Mine Tunnel disaster]] in [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre]]]]
[[File:East Main Street, Nanticoke, Pa (79611).jpg|thumb|[[Nanticoke, Pennsylvania|Nanticoke]] as depicted in a drawing from between 1930 and 1945]]
At the beginning of the 20th century, Luzerne County was in the midst of an economic boom. Industry, which included manufacturing and coal mining, drew thousands of immigrants (mostly from Europe) to the region. However, there were several drawbacks to the industrial boom. Labor unrest, mining accidents, and [[child labor]] were just a few problems facing the county. Labor disputes led to miners striking in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The [[Coal strike of 1902|Great Strike of 1902]] gained national attention when it threatened to shut down the winter fuel supply for major U.S. cities. At that time, residences were typically heated with anthracite (or "hard coal"). The [[United Mine Workers|United Mine Workers of America]] protested for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the [[Recognition strike|recognition of their union]]. President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] became involved and set up a fact-finding commission that suspended the strike. The strike never resumed, as the miners received a ten percent wage increase and reduced workdays (from ten to nine hours). It was the first [[labor dispute]] in which the [[U.S. federal government]] intervened as a neutral [[arbitration|arbitrator]].<ref name="luzernecounty.org"/>

Also, in the early 1900s, the anthracite coal mining industry – and its extensive use of child labor – was one of the industries targeted by the [[National Child Labor Committee]] and its hired photographer, [[Lewis Hine]]. Many of Hine's subjects were photographed in the mines and coal fields in and around Pittston and Wilkes-Barre. The impact of the Hine photographs led to the enactment of [[child labor laws]] across the country.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/biography.html | title = About Lewis Wickes Hine | publisher = New York Public Library | access-date = May 22, 2007 | first = Anthony T | last = Troncale |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070308123219/http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/biography.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = March 8, 2007}}</ref>

Despite the better working conditions, industrial accidents were still commonplace. On December 6, 1915, an [[Laurel Run mine fire|underground mine fire]] started in the Red Ash Coal Mine near the communities of [[Laurel Run, Pennsylvania|Laurel Run]] and [[Georgetown, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Georgetown]]. Hundreds of residents living near the mine fire were later relocated. The fire continued to burn well into the 21st century.<ref name = "coal fires">{{Citation|editor = Glenn B. Stracher|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eJU0WOABSWIC&q=%22Laurel+Run+Mine+Fire%22&pg=PA266|title = Geology of Coal Fires: Case Studies from Around the World|date = January 1, 2007| publisher=Geological Society of America |access-date = January 30, 2014|isbn = 9780813741185}}</ref> On June 5, 1919, another major mining accident occurred nearby. An explosion killed 92 miners at the [[Baltimore Mine Tunnel Disaster (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania)|Baltimore Colliery]] in Wilkes-Barre.<ref>{{Cite news|title=New York Times "FLAME IN TUNNEL KILLS 84, BURNS 42: Spreads Like Blanket Over Miners."|date=June 6, 1919}}</ref>

Regardless of the industrial setbacks, the region continued to grow economically. In 1906, construction began on a new [[Luzerne County Courthouse|county courthouse]] in Wilkes-Barre.<ref name="arch">{{cite web| url = https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce/SelectWelcome.asp| title = National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania| publisher = CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System| format = Searchable database| access-date = January 15, 2018| archive-date = July 21, 2007| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070721014609/https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce/SelectWelcome.asp| url-status = dead}} ''Note:'' This includes {{cite web| url = {{NRHP-PA|H000735_01H.pdf}}| title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Luzerne County Courthouse| access-date = March 13, 2012| author = Gary F. Lamont| format = PDF| date = n.d.}}</ref> Twenty years later (in 1926), [[Nanticoke, Pennsylvania|Nanticoke]], with a population of just over 22,000, was incorporated as a city.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nanticokecity.com/history.htm|title=history|website=www.nanticokecity.com|access-date=April 11, 2017|archive-date=March 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303005316/http://www.nanticokecity.com/history.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was the last city established in the county. By [[1930 United States Census|1930]], the county's population peaked at 445,109. It was obvious that industry was the driving force behind the expanding population. From the 1930s to the 1980s, Pittston City emerged as a national center for [[Clothing industry|clothing manufacturing]]. Thousands of workers, mainly women, labored in many factories throughout the [[Greater Pittston]] area. Most were members of the [[International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union]] (ILGWU). It advocated for higher wages, improvements in workplace health and safety, and employee rights. The ILGWU was active in civic and political life throughout Pennsylvania.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tyler|first=Gus|title=Look for the Union Label: A History of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union|year=1995|publisher=M. E. Sharpe|location=Armonk, NY}}</ref>

Railroad accidents were common throughout the United States in the 1800s and 1900s. In 1934, the right arm of [[Hughestown, Pennsylvania|Hughestown]] resident Harry Tompkins was crushed by an [[Erie Railroad]] train. This resulted in the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] case ''[[Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins]]'', which laid the foundation for a large part of modern American [[civil procedure]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/17/us/aaron-danzig-89-who-argued-landmark-case-on-court-power.html |title=Aaron Danzig, 89, Who Argued Landmark Case on Court Power |first=Stuart |last=Lavietes | newspaper=The New York Times |date=September 17, 2002 |quote=Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, the landmark 1938 Supreme Court case that limited the power of the federal courts}}</ref>

As the United States entered the age of mass air transportation, Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, the two 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 the federal government's [[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, Pennsylvania|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.

By the mid-20th century, anthracite production was declining at a steady rate. Consumers were gradually switching from coal to other forms of energy (e.g., oil, natural gas, and electricity). The [[Knox Mine Disaster]] was the final blow to the industry. On January 22, 1959, the Susquehanna River broke through the River Slope Mine in [[Port Griffith, Pennsylvania|Port Griffith]], [[Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania|Jenkins Township]]; it claimed the lives of twelve people. In the following months, two of the area's largest coal companies announced a full withdrawal from the anthracite business. Thousands of jobs were lost and the mining industry never recovered in Luzerne County.<ref name="Times Leader">{{cite news |url=http://www.pagenweb.org/~luzerne/mines/knox.htm |title= Knox Mine Disaster |date=1998 |access-date=December 29, 2016 |author= David Pencek |newspaper= Times Leader}}</ref>

The Wyoming Valley witnessed historical flooding from the Susquehanna River in the past. In June 1972, [[Hurricane Agnes]] devastated much of the [[East Coast of the United States|Eastern Seaboard]] (including Pennsylvania). The Susquehanna River rose to 40.9 feet and breached the levees of several communities in the Wyoming Valley. In Wilkes-Barre, hundreds were trapped in their homes; nearly nine feet of water inundated Public Square. At the historic cemetery in [[Forty Fort, Pennsylvania|Forty Fort]], 2,000 caskets were washed away, leaving body parts on porches, roofs, and in basements. In Luzerne County alone, 25,000 homes and businesses were either damaged or destroyed. Losses in the county totaled $1&nbsp;billion.<ref name="TTL">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesleader.com/news/FLOOD_OF_MEMORIES_06-21-2009.html|title=Agnes now a flood of memories|author=Bill O'Boyle|date=June 22, 2009|newspaper=[[Times Leader]]|access-date=March 6, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193257/http://www.timesleader.com/news/FLOOD_OF_MEMORIES_06-21-2009.html|archive-date=January 2, 2014}}</ref>

Luzerne County's economy was hit hard with the collapse of the mining industry and the devastating Agnes flood. To make matters worse, factories throughout the county were shutting down. They could not compete with lower labor costs elsewhere. By the end of the 20th century, Luzerne County was in the midst of a [[recession]].

Following the Agnes flood (from the 1980s to 2000), two notable tragedies occurred in Luzerne County. The first took place on September 25, 1982, when [[George Banks (spree killer)|George Banks]] killed thirteen people in a shooting [[Spree killer|rampage]] in Wilkes-Barre and Jenkins Township.<ref name=AP82>{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Banks named in 8 more murder indictments|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MfwxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5013,6481003&dq=george+banks+murders&hl=en|work=The Reading Eagle|date= September 30, 1982 |access-date=March 26, 2011}}</ref> The second incident took place on May 21, 2000, when a plane crash in [[Bear Creek Township, Pennsylvania|Bear Creek Township]] (near the intersection of Bear Creek Boulevard – PA Route 115 – and the Northeast Extension of the [[Pennsylvania Turnpike]]) killed the pilot as well as all nineteen passengers.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0005/21/wv.10.html |title=CNN Transcript – WorldView: NTSB Begins Investigation Into Charter Plane Crash in Pennsylvania Which Killed All 19 Onboard – May 21, 2000 |publisher=Cnn.com |date=May 21, 2000 |access-date=January 19, 2018}}</ref>