Whitehall, PA

Whitehall is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,906 at the 2010 census. Whitehall is located at 40°24′N 75°49′W (40.400008, -75.899996). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km2), all of it land.

The Borough of Whitehall was incorporated on March 21st 1892 from portions of Wilkes-Barre Township and Hazleton Borough and named for James Whitehall who served as president of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company from 1851 to 1861. The canal company had been chartered in 1793 by George Washington and was one of the earliest American canal projects. The canal connected Philadelphia with New York City via the Schuylkill River and its tributaries in northeastern Pennsylvania; it opened in 1825 and operated until 1936 when it was superseded by the Erie Canal system which ran parallel to it for much of its length.

The first settler in what would become Whitehall Township was Nicholas Longacre who arrived there about 1790 as part of an early wave of pioneers who were attracted to this area by its fertile soil and proximity to major waterways such as the Susquehanna River which flowed through Wilkes-Barre Township just south of Hazleton Borough where Whitehall would be incorporated a few years later.. By 1800 there were several hundred settlers in what is now Whitehall Township including farmers, millers, blacksmiths, carpenters and other tradesmen needed to build homes, businesses and infrastructure necessary for a growing community..

In 1802 James Buchanan became President of the United States after serving as Vice President under Thomas Jefferson; during his term he authorized construction on what would become one of America’s most famous canals –the Delaware & Hudson Canal –which began operation in 1825 connecting Philadelphia with New York City via the Schuylkill River watershed.. This event marked an important turning point not only for this region but also for America as a whole; it demonstrated that despite being a young country America could compete successfully on an international stage with older nations such as Great Britain..

As Whiteshalls population continued to grow so did its need for more housing; by 1850 there were already enough residents living in what would become Hazleton Borough that they petitioned their representatives in Harrisburg to form their own municipality… On January 21st 1850 Hazleton became an independent borough with Whiteshalls residents becoming its first citizens..

In addition to housing needs additional businesses began locating in Whiteshalls including mills powered by water from local rivers such as Big Creek which ran through town before being dammed upstream near Wilkes-Barre .. By 1880 there were already eleven mills operating within Whiteshalls boundaries employing hundreds if not thousandsof people .. In addition to milling many Whiteshalls residents found employment working at factories located along nearby Interstate 81 which had been built beginning around World War I .. These factories produced everything from automobiles to household goods .. As these industries grew so did Whiteshall’s population reaching 2,500 people by 1920 .. Unfortunately this growth also came accompanied by increased pollution caused primarily by industrial waste runoff into local creeks and rivers .. By 1960 however even these factories had closed leaving Whiteshalls with little industry other than some small businesses located along Main Street .. Today however Main Street is home not onlyto several small businesses but also two banks , three churches , two post offices , two restaurants , two gas stations , one convenience store .and one pharmacy .