West Pittston, Pa.
Item
Title
West Pittston, Pa.
Creator
H. H. Rowley
American, fl. 1870s and 1880s
Printed by C. H. Vogt & Son, Cleveland
Published by H. H. Rowley, Utica
American, fl. 1870s and 1880s
Printed by C. H. Vogt & Son, Cleveland
Published by H. H. Rowley, Utica
Date
1885
Materials
Lithograph with hand coloring
Measurements
20-3/8 x 33-3/8 in. (51.8 x 84.8 cm)
Description
Located along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River, between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, West Pittston (not surprisingly, due west of Pittston, just across the Susquehanna) lies at the heart of Wyoming Valley, a broad, crescent shaped lowland in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Curiously, many of the first non-indigenous settlers in the valley were not Pennsylvanians. They were from Connecticut, which as a colony laid claim to the upper third of Pennsylvania by way of its original land grant from Charles II. Unfortunately, Charles also deeded the same land to William Penn nearly twenty years later, so when the Susquehanna Company of Connecticut began to send settlers into the Wyoming Valley—including the area around Pittston and West Pittston—in 1762, the Pennsylvanians who already lived there, and who thought they owned the land, were not very happy. The action resulted in a series of conflicts, perhaps a little too ambitiously called the Pennamite–Yankee Wars, in 1769, 1775, and 1784. The dispute wasn’t fully settled, in Pennsylvania’s favor, until 1799.
Adapted from the entry written by Judith Hansen O’Toole for the 1980 Pennsylvania Prints exhibition catalogue.
Curiously, many of the first non-indigenous settlers in the valley were not Pennsylvanians. They were from Connecticut, which as a colony laid claim to the upper third of Pennsylvania by way of its original land grant from Charles II. Unfortunately, Charles also deeded the same land to William Penn nearly twenty years later, so when the Susquehanna Company of Connecticut began to send settlers into the Wyoming Valley—including the area around Pittston and West Pittston—in 1762, the Pennsylvanians who already lived there, and who thought they owned the land, were not very happy. The action resulted in a series of conflicts, perhaps a little too ambitiously called the Pennamite–Yankee Wars, in 1769, 1775, and 1784. The dispute wasn’t fully settled, in Pennsylvania’s favor, until 1799.
Adapted from the entry written by Judith Hansen O’Toole for the 1980 Pennsylvania Prints exhibition catalogue.
Source
Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University, partial gift and purchase from John C. O’Connor and Ralph M. Yeager.
Identifier
86.587
Rights
This image is posted publicly for non-profit educational uses, excluding printed publication. Other uses are not permitted.