Founded under Quaker William Penn’s ideals of equality and nonconformity, Pennsylvania, including the North East quickly developed into a melting pot of cultural and economic firsts that continues even today. Comprised mainly of the metropolitan areas of Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Allentown, and Williamsport along with their suburbs North Eastern Pennsylvania was founded on cultural and economic diversity. Cities built on commercial, mining, and manufacturing prosperity have continued evolving into the one of the region’s leading cultural, entertainment, and retail centers.

    Cities built upon mining, manufacturing, and transportation have overcome economic difficulty and have evolved to appeal to the needs of an increasingly diverse and educated population. Specialty retail, fine art, and multi-culturally influenced music have replaced heavy industry to breathe new life into the once narrow economies of Northern and Eastern Pennsylvania. Already remembered in history for being a state of firsts, Pennsylvania continues to be on the cutting edge of culturally evolution well into the modern century.

Written by Marietta Dooley

    Founded as a city in 1769 and officially incorporated as a borough in 1806, Wilkes-Barre experienced a population explosion during the 1800’s when large deposits of anthracite coal were discovered in and around the area. Until this time, much of the population considered coal valueless until a man named Jesse Fell experimentally burned it on an open grate in his own Wilkes-Barre home. This discovery, as well as being a Pennsylvania first, would come to indefinitely shape the history of the entire Wyoming Valley. The nickname of “The Diamond City” is still a reminder of the city’s history as one of the largest anthracite coal producing areas in the United States. Wilkes-Barre is also home to the Lion Brewery first opened in 1905, and has survived Prohibition, floods, and economic downturn after the decline of the coal industry to become an iconic landmark of the city.

    Stemming from the boom of the anthracite coal industry in the nearby Wyoming Valley, the city of Scranton developed as an industrial center combining the characteristics of a coal-mining community, as well as important railroad and manufacturing center. It home to the nation's first successful, continuously-operating electrified streetcar system was established in the city in 1886, giving it the nickname "The Electric City". Whereas neighboring areas mined or produced raw materials, Scranton served as a coal-assembling and shipping center and freight and passenger division point. Today its Railroad Museum preserves its heritage of transportation and industrialization. Scranton has been hosting a Saint Patrick’s Day Parade since 1862 and it has since grown to become the fourth largest in the nation.

    Allentown, at the center of the Lehigh Valley and county seat of Lehigh County, is Pennsylvania’s third most populous city. First settled in 1735 on land purchased directly from the sons of William Penn, it quickly became an important commercial center due to its location along the Lehigh River and proximity to Philadelphia. The arrival of the Lehigh Canal, however, expanded the city's commerce and industrial capacity greatly. With this, the town underwent significant industrialization, ultimately becoming one of the nation's largest centers for heavy industry and manufacturing. Like the city of Scranton, railroads in Allentown were vital to the movement of raw materials and finished goods and to the economy of the Lehigh Valley.

    Formally incorporated as a city in 1866 at the heart of Lycoming County is the city of Williamsport, also the site of many Pennsylvania firsts. In the late 1800s, when Williamsport was known as "The Lumber Capital of the World" because of its thriving lumber industry, it also was the birthplace of the national newspaper Grit in 1882. Williamsport once had more millionaires per-capita than anywhere in the world. The city is also the original home of Little League Baseball, founded in 1939. Williamsport is still home to the Little League World Series every August. Since its humble beginning as a three team league, it has grown to become a worldwide tournament.