Wilkes-Barre

Wilkes-Barre (wĭlks-bâr`ē), city (1990 pop. 47,523), seat of Luzerne co., E Pa., on the east bank of the Susquehanna River; settled 1769, inc. as a city 1871. Once a major anthracite coal center, Wilkes-Barre has factories manufacturing pencils, radios, glass, shoes, and electronic equipment. The city was named for John Wilkes and Isaac Barré, defenders of the colonies before Parliament. The settlement was burned in 1778 by the British and Native Americans, just after the Wyoming Valley massacre; it was again burned in 1784. Wilkes-Barre is the seat of Wilkes College, King's College, College Misericordia, and a branch of Pennsylvania State Univ. The Swetland Homestead (early 1800s) is of historical interest. Much of Wilkes-Barre was severely damaged by the flooding of the Susquehanna in 1972.