Scranton
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From top, left to right: Scranton Electric Building, St. Peter's Cathedral, Downtown Scranton, Scranton City Hall, and Courthouse Square
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Flag
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Nicknames:
The Electric City, The All America City, Steamtown
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Motto(s):
Embracing Our People, Our Traditions and Our Future
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Anthem: "
Hail, Pennsylvania!
"
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Show map of the United States
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Coordinates:
41°24′38″N
75°40′03″W
/
41.41056°N 75.66750°W
/
41.41056; -75.66750
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Country
| United States
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State
| Pennsylvania
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County
| Lackawanna
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Region
| Greater Scranton
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Incorporated
(borough)
| February 14, 1856
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Incorporated (city)
| April 23, 1866
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Named for
| George W. Scranton
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? Type
| Mayor-Council
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? Body
| Scranton City Council
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Mayor
| Paige Cognetti
(
D
)
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City
and
County Seat
| 25.54 sq mi (66.14 km
2
)
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? Land
| 25.31 sq mi (65.55 km
2
)
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? Water
| 0.23 sq mi (0.60 km
2
)
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? Metro
| 1,777 sq mi (4,602 km
2
)
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Elevation
| 745 ft (227 m)
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City
and
County Seat
| 76,328
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? Density
| 3,015.96/sq mi (1,164.49/km
2
)
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Urban
| 366,713 (US:
113th
)
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? Urban density
| 2,261.4/sq mi (873.1/km
2
)
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Metro
| 567,559 (US:
100th
)
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Demonym
| Scrantonian/Scrantonite
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Time zone
| UTC?05:00
(
EST
)
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? Summer (
DST
)
| UTC?04:00
(
EDT
)
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ZIP Codes
| 18447, 18501?18505, 18507?18510, 18512, 18514?18515, 18517?18519, 18522, 18540, 18577
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Area code(s)
| 570 and 272
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FIPS code
| 42-69000
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GNIS
feature ID
| 634293
[3]
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Website
| www
.scrantonpa
.gov
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Scranton
is a
city
in
Pennsylvania
. It is the
county seat
of
Lackawanna County
. The city had a
population
of 76,328 people in
2020
.
[2]
46th
U.S. President
Joe Biden
was born here.
Scranton was first
settled
in 1776 by Lenape
Indians
. Over time, settlers from
New England
began to move to Scranton. They built
mills
and other small
businesses
. The
village
was known as
Slocum Hollow
. In 1845, Scranton started to
manufacture
iron
and
steel
. The iron was used for making
rails
. Scranton became a leading maker of iron rails. A
railroad
was
founded
in 1851. It was built to move iron and
coal
.
Scranton became a
borough
in 1856. In 1866, Scranton was made a city when
Hyde Park
and
Providence
joined together with the Borough of Scranton. The city had 35,000 people living in it. In 1866, a
streetcar
system was built. It was the first in the
United States
. Scranton got the
nickname
"The Electric City" because of this. In the late 1890s, Scranton had several
minor league
baseball
teams.
The
United States Census
said that Scranton had a population of 102,026 people in the year 1900. This made it the 38th largest city in the United States. In the 1900s, Scranton was known for its many
Victorian
-style
houses
.
In 1901, the iron industry in Scranton moved to
Lackawanna, New York
. Scranton lost one of its main industries. In the next 25 years, many people from
Eastern Europe
moved to Scranton. Two years later, the
Laurel Line railroad
opened up, making it easy to go to
Wilkes-Barre
, 20 miles (32 km) south. After World War II, coal began being replaced with cleaner fuels such as
oil
and
gas
causing Scranton to
diminish
. There wasn't as much
coal
being made, and not as many trains passed through. The streetcar system stopped in 1954, and a year later, the city was
flooded
after Hurricane Diane. 80 people died. The NYO&W freight railroad stopped going to Scranton in 1957.
The
Knox Mine Disaster
of 1959 wiped out the mining industry as the
Susquehanna River
flooded most of the mines in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The local DL&W railroad, nearly out of money, merged with the Erie Railroad in 1960. In the 1960s and 1970s, the
silk
and
textile
industries
was getting smaller as they moved South or
overseas
. In the 1970s and 1980s, the downtown shops lay empty as it was best to shop in
suburban
malls. However, in the 1980s, the people of Scranton started revitalizing the city. Old places were marketed as tourist attractions. There is a historic site commemorating the city's railroad history, a hotel at the former DL&W Railroad station and a trolley museum. Some more modern
attractions
are a
ski resort
, the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
(a minor league baseball team) and a concert venue. Also, popular
sitcom
The Office
is set in Scranton.