Dallas, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the 1950s

Work

Roads, schools, shops

Daily work here was not dominated by a single factory in the sources found; the clearest institutions are roads, schools, newspaper, library, college, and retail. By decade’s end the place has a named Back Mountain Shopping Center¹⁴, while the Dallas Post^2,3 remains a local employer and news machine.

Faith

Catholic growth beside older churches

Catholic institutions were highly visible: College Misericordia¹¹ stood on the Dallas highlands, and Gate of Heaven Elementary School¹⁰ opened in 1951. The college was still an all-women’s Catholic college¹² in this decade.

Law & power

Borough and school boards

Public authority was local and practical: school boards, borough officials, PTA committees, and county government shaped ordinary life. One small example is Dallas Borough PTA raising $630⁹ for playground equipment.

In the air

Community-building was civic work

The decade’s local argument was often how to build shared institutions. In 1950, residents met at Dallas Township High School⁹ to discuss a Back Mountain Community Center, and the library’s survival depended in part on the annual auction begun in 1946⁶.

What people feared

Roads and winter travel

Road travel to and from Wilkes-Barre mattered and could be hazardous in winter. A remembered 1950 item described a man returning from the city who stopped to put on tire chains during snow and then died near the Trucksville Post Office⁹.

Home & table

Schools marked family life

Children’s routines were tied to several local schools: Dallas Borough School⁹, Dallas Township High School⁹, and after 1951 Gate of Heaven Elementary School¹⁰. A gap remains: ordinary Dallas house interiors are not described in the online sources opened here.

Money

Small sums mattered

The most concrete local money figure found is civic rather than household: $630 raised by the Dallas Borough PTA⁹ in 1950. This search did not uncover borough-specific wage rates or grocery prices for the 1950s.

Roads & news

A weekly told the place

News arrived through the weekly Dallas Post^2,3, through highways, churches, schools, and trips to Wilkes-Barre. The newspaper’s surviving archive means the whole 1950s decade is well documented online⁴.

Year by year

1. 1950Dallas borough was counted at 1,658 residents, while Luzerne County as a whole fell to 391,226 residents. here¹
2. 1950A meeting at Dallas Township High School discussed plans for a Back Mountain Community Center. here⁹
3. 1951Gate of Heaven Elementary School opened for its first academic year on Machell Avenue. here¹⁰
4. 1953The Korean War armistice ended open fighting in Korea, news that would have reached Dallas through papers, radio, churches, schools, and veterans’ circles. the country
5. 1955The Back Mountain Memorial Library was rededicated on May 22. here¹³
6. 1956The widened U.S. 309 section between Dallas and the Wyoming County line was completed. nearby⁸
7. 1957Sister M. Celestine McHale established the Administrative Office of the President at College Misericordia. here¹¹
8. 1957The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, making space and science education a national subject of conversation in American schools and newspapers. the world

Pictures from the time

What the sources say

• Dallas borough had 1,658 residents in the 1950 census, up from 1,484 in 1940. from the sources¹
• Dallas was one of the Back Mountain communities of Luzerne County, a label the local weekly used for the area around Dallas, Kingston, Lehman, Jackson, Lake, and neighboring townships and boroughs. from the sources^2,3
• The Dallas Post was the local weekly newspaper and described its work as church, community, school, sports, event, and classified news for the Back Mountain. from the sources^2,3
• The Dallas Post archive covers issues from January 5, 1929 through December 22, 2013, so the 1950s are unusually well documented online for a small borough. from the sources⁴
• The Back Mountain Memorial Library stood at 96 Huntsville Road in Dallas and served the Back Mountain community. from the sources⁵
• The Back Mountain Memorial Library Auction began in 1946 after Dallas Post editor Howard Risley suggested an informal auction to support the new community library. from the sources⁶
• For many years, the library auction was held at the Risley barn, adjacent to the Dallas Post newspaper. from the sources⁶
• By 1950, U.S. 309 had been widened to a multilane road between Luzerne and PA 415 in Dallas. from the sources⁷
• By 1956, the U.S. 309 section between Dallas and the Wyoming County line had been completed after mid-1950s widening work. from the sources⁸
• A 1950 Dallas Post item remembered in 1960 reported a death after a man stopped at the Trucksville Post Office to put chains on his car while returning from Wilkes-Barre to Lehman during falling snow. from the sources⁹
• Dallas Borough PTA raised $630 in 1950 for playground equipment at the borough school. from the sources⁹
• A 1950 meeting at Dallas Township High School discussed plans for a Back Mountain Community Center. from the sources⁹
• Gate of Heaven Elementary School on Machell Avenue in Dallas opened for its first academic year in September 1951. from the sources¹⁰
• College Misericordia, founded in Dallas in 1924 by the Religious Sisters of Mercy, was Luzerne County’s first four-year institution of higher learning. from the sources¹¹
• College Misericordia was an all-women’s Catholic college in the 1950s and did not become officially coeducational until 1979. from the sources¹²
• From 1924 until 1957, the Mother Provincial of the Diocese of Scranton was honorary president of College Misericordia, while the academic dean ran daily academic operations. from the sources¹¹
• Sister M. Celestine McHale established the Administrative Office of the College President at College Misericordia in 1957. from the sources¹¹
• In January 1956, the Dallas Post referred to the Back Mountain Memorial Library rededication held on May 22, 1955. from the sources¹³
• In April 1959, the Dallas Post carried advertising or news text referring to the Back Mountain Shopping Center. from the sources¹⁴
• Luzerne County had 391,226 residents in 1950, down 11.4 percent from 441,518 in 1940, so Dallas was growing while the wider county was shrinking. from the sources¹
• No detailed online description found in this search gives the materials, sizes, or interior furnishings of ordinary Dallas houses in the 1950s. not known
• No opened source in this search gave 1950s Dallas wage rates or grocery prices specific to the borough. not known

Sources

1. 1950 Census: Population of Pennsylvania by Counties: April 1, 1950. United States Census Bureau, 1950
2. About Us | Dallas Post. The Dallas Post
3. Dallas Post | Dallas News, Sports, Classified, and Events. The Dallas Post
4. Dallas Post Archive. Back Mountain Memorial Library / Luzerne Libraries
5. Back Mountain Memorial Library Organization Details. Network of the National Library of Medicine
6. Back Mountain Bidding Annual Library Auction Marking 50 Years Of Fund Raising. Times Leader Archive, 1996
7. Pennsylvania Route 309. Wikipedia
8. US 309 (Decommissioned). Pennsylvania Highways
9. The Dallas Post, March 24, 1960, Image 2. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive, 1960
10. Gate of Heaven all-class reunion will be May 24. Times Leader, 2026
11. History of the Presidency. Misericordia University
12. Building a Foundation, 1921-1929 · Misericordia Spaces: The First 30 Years. Misericordia University Archives
13. The Dallas Post, January 20, 1956, Image 5. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive, 1956
14. The Dallas Post, April 2, 1959, Image 3. Pennsylvania Newspaper Archive, 1959

Dallas in other decades

Nearby, about the same time