About Us

A Brief History of West Pittston

The events of the American Revolution shaped the history of the area that is now known as the borough of West Pittston. At that time, Jenkins Fort, one of a series of forts built to protect the settlers of Wyoming Valley, sat at the top of the river bank near the present day Fort Jenkins Bridge. It was primarily occupied by Judge John Jenkins, Captain Stephen Harding and their families. The tragic story of the Harding brothers, who were buried in Jenkins graveyard near Jenkins Fort, is of special interest to the residents of West Pittston. The graveyard still exists today as the historic Jenkins Harding Cemetery located on Wyoming Avenue at Linden Street and the graves of the Hardings are clearly marked with hand carved stones.

In the early 1850’s, the area that would become West Pittston was a portion of Exeter Township and consisted primarily of grain fields and orchards. Around this time, the West Pittston Land Association, a partnership of local businessmen, purchased Peter Polen’s farm and other land for development into building lots. The West Pittston Coal Company owned another large portion of land in the area. The coal company, primarily interested in the mineral rights below the ground, saw an opportunity to sell the ground surface as building lots and began charting out this area for building. Smaller sections of present day West Pittston were laid out by other developers. Lacoe and Lowenstein; R. J. Wisner, L. G. Damon and H. M. Damon; Amos York Smith the W. C. Gildersleeve estate developed portions of land within the present day borough boundaries.

In 1857, just seven years after the establishment of the West Pittston Land Association, the residents had become so numerous that the various land developments decided to establish a borough charter. The application for borough status was approved on August 19, 1857 by the grand jury and on November 23, 1857 the decision was confirmed by the court establishing the new Borough of West Pittston.

The newly chartered borough was consumed with establishing services that would attract new residents. Sidewalks, curbs, street lighting, a modern sewer system and schools were a major focus. The developing town would also need a town hall and fire department. As early as 1859, the borough was encouraging the planting of shade trees to enhance the beauty of the community.

By the time of the borough’s Golden Jubilee fiftieth anniversary in 1907, these goals were achieved. The borough held a huge celebration with parades, contests and decorated homes. By the early 20th century there were only a few building lots remaining in town and elegant homes set back from the tree lined streets graced the borough. While many surrounding communities bore the scars of coal mining, the lush sweeping lawns and gardens of West Pittston set the community apart and earned the borough the title of the “Garden Village.”

Over the years, flooding in 1972 and 2011 have caused immeasurable damage to homes and businesses in West Pittston and the borough continues to rebuild and revitalize.

In recent years, two West Pittston landmarks have been converted into apartments by United Neighborhood Development. The adaptive reuse of the Hitchner Biscuit Company bakery and the former West Pittston High School building on Luzerne Avenue has preserved these structures for future generations. The borough is currently in the process of filing an application for a historic district with the hope of highlighting and preserving more West Pittston architectural gems.

West Pittston Historical Society 2019

Frequently Asked Questions and New Resident Information

---