# Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the 1950s

> A county-seat coal city in decline, with colleges rising downtown and the mines still powerful until the river broke in.

- Place: Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (41.246, -75.881)
- Years: 1950 to 1959
- Page: https://yorehistory.com/place/wilkes-barre-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1950s
- Step into it (interactive): https://yorehistory.com/?step=Wilkes-Barre%2C%20Luzerne%20County%2C%20Pennsylvania%2C%20United%20States&at=41.2459,-75.8813&year=1955

## Looking around

Stand near the center of Wilkes-Barre and turn toward the river: this is a city of 76,826 people in 1950[1], seated in Luzerne County, whose population had fallen 11.4 percent since 1940[2]. Downtown institutions press close together: King’s College, opened for men in 1946[9], and Wilkes College, independent since 1947[10], occupy former business and residential spaces. Beyond the streets lies the Wyoming Valley anthracite field[3][4], where thousands of Luzerne County miners still earn a living in underground and strip mines[5]. Local news moves through the Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre Record, Evening News, and Sunday Independent[11]. Buses and trackless trolleys replace the old streetcar world: Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation had taken over local transit by 1947[12][13]. Upriver, the Susquehanna is not scenery only; by decade’s end it will pour into the River Slope Mine at Port Griffith[6][7].

## Work: Coal still pays

The old industry is weakened but not gone: thousands of Luzerne County miners still work in underground and strip mines[5] at the end of the decade. City work also includes silk and garment manufacturing, including women’s garments[4].

## Faith: Catholic colleges rise

The Congregation of Holy Cross came at the Scranton bishop’s invitation[9] to found King’s College. Its first students included many World War II veterans[9], tying church, education, and the postwar household together.

## Law & power: County seat authority

Wilkes-Barre is the county seat of a shrinking industrial county: Luzerne County lost 11.4 percent of its population between 1940 and 1950[2]. Public power sits with officials, but daily leverage also belongs to unions, mine operators, newspapers, churches, and party organizations.

## In the air: What replaces coal?

The question under everything is what comes after anthracite: coal production is declining after World War II[5], even while miners still depend on it. New institutions, especially King’s College[9] and Wilkes College[10], point toward education as one answer.

## What people feared: River, mine, flood

The Susquehanna is a working threat as well as a boundary: Hurricane Diane brought major flooding in August 1955[15][16]. In 1959, the river broke into the River Slope Mine, killing twelve men[6][7].

## Home & table: Crowded urban valley

The city holds 76,826 residents in 1950[1] inside a valley county of 391,226 people[2]. No opened source gives a dependable street-by-street picture of 1950s Wilkes-Barre house types or rents.

## Money: Figures are missing

The big economic fact is contraction: the county population fell 11.4 percent in the 1940s[2]. Specific city prices and pay are harder to recover online here; no opened source gives Wilkes-Barre grocery prices, miner wages, or garment wages.

## Roads & news: Several papers compete

Local news comes through the Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre Record, Evening News, and Sunday Independent[11]. In the 1954 newspaper strike, union members published Valley News for about six months[14].

## Year by year

- **1950** (here): Wilkes-Barre counted 76,826 residents in the federal census.[1]
- **1950** (here): Luzerne County’s population stood at 391,226, down 11.4 percent from 1940.[2]
- **1950** (here): Streetcar service in the Wilkes-Barre area ended around this time as buses and trackless trolleys replaced it.[12][13]
- **1954** (here): A strike at the Wilkes-Barre dailies led union members to publish the tabloid Valley News.[14]
- **1955** (here): Hurricane Diane caused major flooding in the Wilkes-Barre area and across eastern Pennsylvania.[15][16]
- **1957** (here): Stark Hall opened at Wilkes College.[10]
- **1957** (the world): The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, feeding national arguments about science, schools, and the Cold War.
- **1959** (nearby): The Knox Mine disaster killed twelve men when the Susquehanna River entered the River Slope Mine at Port Griffith.[6][7]

## What the sources say

- Wilkes-Barre city had 76,826 residents in the 1950 census, down from its earlier 20th-century peak. (from the sources)[1]
- Luzerne County had 391,226 people on April 1, 1950, compared with 441,518 in 1940, a decline of 11.4 percent. (from the sources)[2]
- Wilkes-Barre stood in the Wyoming Valley anthracite region, historically one of the hard-coal districts of northeastern Pennsylvania. (from the sources)[3][4]
- Although anthracite production was declining after World War II, thousands of Luzerne County miners still worked in underground and strip mines at the end of the 1950s. (from the sources)[5]
- The local economy was not only coal: Wilkes-Barre also had silk and garment manufacturing, including firms that made women’s garments. (from the sources)[4]
- On January 22, 1959, the Susquehanna River broke into the River Slope Mine at Port Griffith in Jenkins Township, killing twelve men and flooding interconnected Wyoming Valley mine workings. (from the sources)[6][7]
- Port Griffith, the site of the Knox Mine disaster, was about eight miles upriver from Wilkes-Barre. (from the sources)[8]
- King’s College was chartered in May 1946 and began classes in September 1946 with about 380 accepted students, about 90 percent of them World War II veterans. (from the sources)[9]
- Bucknell University Junior College became Wilkes College in 1947, an independent nondenominational four-year college in Wilkes-Barre. (from the sources)[10]
- King’s College was founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross at the invitation of the Catholic Diocese of Scranton to provide higher education in the anthracite coal region. (from the sources)[9]
- In the 1950s, Wilkes-Barre readers could use the Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre Record, Evening News, and Sunday Independent; the local library’s microfilm holdings list the Times Leader from January 2, 1950 and the Record through June 1972. (from the sources)[11]
- Wilkes-Barre Transit Corporation was formed in 1947 after earlier Wilkes-Barre railway and trolley operations, and local streetcar service ended around 1950 as buses and trackless trolleys took over. (from the sources)[12][13]
- When Wilkes-Barre’s daily papers struck in 1954, union members published a tabloid called Valley News for about six months. (inferred)[14]
- Hurricane Diane brought major flooding to the Wilkes-Barre area in August 1955, and Pennsylvania counted 113 deaths and at least $70 million in damage from the storm’s floods. (from the sources)[15][16]
- Luzerne County’s 2014 hazard-mitigation history lists August 1955 flooding from Diane as a presidentially declared disaster affecting northeastern counties. (from the sources)[17]
- No online city directory opened here gives a full 1950s block-by-block list of Wilkes-Barre shops, rents, or house types. (not known)
- No opened source gives 1950s Wilkes-Barre grocery prices, miner wages, or garment wages specific to the city. (not known)
- As in many Pennsylvania cities in the 1950s, municipal power was formally held by elected city and county officials, while unions, mine operators, newspapers, churches, and party organizations also shaped daily public life. (inferred)

## Sources

1. 1950 Census: Population of Pennsylvania by Counties: April 1, 1950. U.S. Census Bureau, 1950. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/pc-02/pc-2-46.pdf
2. Congressional Record—Senate, 1951, remarks on anthracite region population. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1951. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1951-pt1/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1951-pt1-6.pdf
3. Wyoming Valley. Anthracite Living History. https://anthracitehistory.org/northern-coal-field/wyoming-valley/
4. History of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. U-S-History.com. https://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2131.html
5. History of Luzerne County. Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. https://www.luzernecounty.org/422/History-of-Luzerne-County
6. Knox Mine Disaster. Luzerne County PAGenWeb. https://www.pagenweb.org/~luzerne/mines/knox.htm
7. Knox Mine Disaster Photographs, 1959. University at Albany. https://www.albany.edu/jmmh/vol3/harvan/interview/photopag/knox.htm
8. Disaster—or Murder? In the Mines. Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine. https://paheritage.wpengine.com/article/disaster-murder-mines/
9. King's College History Timeline. King's College. https://www.kings.edu/aboutkings/traditions-mission/history.html
10. History of Wilkes. Wilkes University. https://www.wilkes.edu/about-wilkes/history/index.aspx
11. Genealogy Services. Osterhout Free Library. https://osterhout.info/using-the-library/genealogy-services/
12. About Us. Luzerne County Transportation Authority. https://www.lctabus.com/about/
13. Straßenbahn Wilkes-Barre. Wikipedia. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stra%C3%9Fenbahn_Wilkes-Barre
14. The Times Leader's newsroom library and local newspaper history. Luzerne County PAGenWeb. https://pagenweb.org/~luzerne/timesldr/jul101.htm
15. Flooding in Pennsylvania. National Weather Service. https://www.weather.gov/safety/flood-states-pa
16. Floods of August 1955 in the Northeastern States. U.S. Geological Survey, 1956. https://www.usgs.gov/publications/floods-august-1955-northeastern-states
17. Luzerne County Hazard Mitigation Plan Update. Luzerne County, 2014. https://www.luzernecounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/15726/2014-0812-LC-Hazard-Mitigation-Plan-Update---FINAL-Vision

## The same place in other decades

- [Wilkes-Barré in the 1790s](https://yorehistory.com/place/wilkes-barre-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1790s/md)
- [Wyoming Valley, Luzerne County in the 1820s](https://yorehistory.com/place/wyoming-valley-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1820s/md)
- [Kingston in the 1830s](https://yorehistory.com/place/kingston-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1830s/md)
- [Wilkes-Barre in the 1870s](https://yorehistory.com/place/wilkes-barre-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1870s/md)
- [Wilkes-Barre in the 1880s](https://yorehistory.com/place/wilkes-barre-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1880s/md)
- [Wilkes-Barre in the 1900s](https://yorehistory.com/place/wilkes-barre-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1900s/md)
- [Wilkes-Barre in the 1920s](https://yorehistory.com/place/wilkes-barre-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1920s/md)
- [Wilkes-Barre in the 1980s](https://yorehistory.com/place/wilkes-barre-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1980s/md)

## Nearby, about the same time

- [Dallas, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the 1950s](https://yorehistory.com/place/dallas-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1950s/md) (12 km)
- [Scranton, Lackawanna, Pennsylvania in the 1940s](https://yorehistory.com/place/scranton-lackawanna-pennsylvania/1940s/md) (26 km)
- [Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania in the 1950s](https://yorehistory.com/place/newtown-bucks-county-pennsylvania/1950s/md) (138 km)
- [Lancaster, Pennsylvania in the 1960s](https://yorehistory.com/place/lancaster-pennsylvania/1960s/md) (139 km)
- [Fanwood, Union County, New Jersey in the 1960s](https://yorehistory.com/place/fanwood-union-county-new-jersey/1960s/md) (143 km)
- [Princeton, New Jersey in the 1930s](https://yorehistory.com/place/princeton-new-jersey/1930s/md) (143 km)
- [Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey in the 1920s](https://yorehistory.com/place/montclair-essex-county-new-jersey/1920s/md) (148 km)

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Researched by Yore's AI historian (gpt-5.5) on 2026-10-11 from the sources listed. It is about the place and the time, not about any person. Statements marked "inferred" are conclusions, not records. Cite as: Yore, "Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the 1950s", https://yorehistory.com/place/wilkes-barre-luzerne-county-pennsylvania/1950s