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Tuesday 11am - 5pm Wednesday 10am - 5pm Thursday 10am - 5pm Friday 10am - 5pm Saturday 12pm - 3pm

The Lackawanna Historical Society

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The Lackawanna Historical Society

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Inspiring exploration of the history of Lackawanna County

10/21/2026

In 1914, George Younis opened a motion picture theater at 1347 N. Main Avenue in the Bull’s Head neighborhood. Briefly known as the Period Theater, by 1932 the theater had taken on the name of the neighborhood. This postcard image captures wartime efforts to help collect scrap aluminum for the war effort. The theater closed in the early 1950s and is today the site of Convenient market.

10/20/2026

To celebrate the we're spotlighting Harriet Hollister Watres, a Scranton poet known by the penname Stella of Lackawanna. Harriet began writing poetry as a student at the Honesdale Female Seminary in the 1830s, and continued writing about nature, relationships, and her new home in the Lackawanna Valley after her marriage to Lewis S. Watres. In "Our City of Anthracite," she described "the patient people-/begrimed with the incense-smoke/ from its many-altared temples,/ are a curious canny folk." One of her poems, "Send them home tenderly," was set to music during the Civil War and sung by Union soldiers. "Cobwebs," an anthology of her poetry, was published by her children after her death in 1886.

10/18/2026

That's amore! Join us this Wednesday, October 21 for Dine Lackawanna at 's Coal Fired Pizza in Dickson City for pizza, pasta, and more!

10/15/2026

We missed yesterday, but still wanted to share some of our fossil collection! The Society was originally established as the Lackawanna Institute of History & Science, and we still maintain a small natural history collection. These fossilized plants and trees are echoes of the layers of decayed and compressed plant matter that created the coal veins. The silvery ferns were found in a culm pile near Taylor; the larger piece covered with diamond-shaped leaf bases are the remains of a lepidodendron, or scale tree, found at a Scranton colliery.

10/14/2026

On October 14, 1926, 3,500 fans crowded around Brooks field on Providence Road to see Babe Ruth, Joe Schaute, and Mike Gazella join an exhibition game between the county league champions from Archbald and a team from Weston field. Ruth started out playing first base for Archbald and would have played every position on the field but the game was called after seven innings when they ran out of baseballs-- kids at the game scooped up all 120 balls as soon as they came within reach! Even through Babe hit two home runs, the Weston team pulled off a 5-2 win.

10/13/2026

In October 1926, just a week after the Yankees lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, Babe Ruth agreed to play in an exhibition game in Scranton. The Scranton Times hosted an essay contest to give away 300 tickets to children answering the question, "what makes Babe Ruth the greatest hero in baseball?" Some gave straightforward answers backed by statistics; others (like Paul Gilvary, included below) submitted poetry explaining, "You're the outstanding Babe because you're there with a slam."

10/12/2026

Babe Ruth is known the world over as the "Sultan of Swat," one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Scranton's first baseball team was formed in 1865, and the city hosted semipro teams as well as industrial leagues, but the Babe held a special place in the hearts of Scrantonians. Babe Ruth played in Scranton at least three times, and often visited the Mulberry Street home of his former Yankees teammate Mike McNally, thriling fans each time. When did Babe Ruth first play in Scranton? Stay tuned!

10/11/2026

Thanks to everyone to came to celebrate our 140th anniversary yesterday at the Archbald Pothole! We had great weather, excellent bbq, fun music, and even took the time to recreate an 1887 group photo!

10/08/2026

Newspaper publication must be continuous and seamless, so construction planning for the Times' new headquarters focused on the press itself. In 1924, two "superspeed" octuple presses were ordered from R. Hoe & Company in New Jersey, capable of printing 42,000 32-page newspapers per hour. As the new building nearer completion, the new press began operating before the news department was in place. The press was commissioned and put to work running regular editions on November 9, 1925; old linotype machines were moved into the new composing room a week later. They were followed in mid-December by the news department, with the clerical staffs from the accounting, advertising, and circulation departments.

10/07/2026

Want to get your hands dirty? Join our friends from the Frances Dorrance Archaeological Society for a hands-on dig this Sunday, October 11 at Coxton Yards from 10am-4pm. Help dig for artifacts, and see displays of past finds!

Address

232 Monroe Avenue
Scranton, PA
18510

Opening Hours

Tuesday	11am - 5pm
Wednesday	10am - 5pm
Thursday	10am - 5pm
Friday	10am - 5pm
Saturday	12pm - 3pm

Website

http://lackawannahistory.org/

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