Community History, Neighborhoods & Cultural Legacy
Scranton and the surrounding Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys of northeastern Pennsylvania were the epicenter of the American anthracite (hard coal) industry. Deep within the subterranean mine shafts, Irish miners from County Mayo and County Donegal risked black lung, cave-ins, and gas explosions to fuel the industrial expansion of the United States.
The miners faced brutal exploitation by coal barons, leading to labor uprisings and the formation of secret societies such as the Molly Maguires, as well as the pioneering United Mine Workers of America under John Mitchell.
Scranton remains one of the proudest hubs of Irish ancestral identity in America (and the birthplace of President Joe Biden, whose Finnegan ancestors emigrated from County Louth and County Mayo).