19th century banking in Monroe County
April 04 , 2016
In 1857, the Stroudsburg Bank became the first official bank in Monroe County. Before this time, there were no banking institutions in Monroe County, and local residents had to travel to Easton for their banking needs. Read More...
Keeping warm - colonial style
January 01 , 2015
Nowadays, when one walks into a chilly room, it’s easy to take for granted that with a simple push of a button or a turn of a dial on the thermostat, the room will warm in a matter of moments. Prior to 20th and 21st Century conveniences, all homes were kept warm by burning wood (or maybe coal) in fireplaces. Chopped and seasoned logs placed on a burning fire were the only source of heat for our ancestors. If you’ve ever cut firewood with a chainsaw and split it with a gas-powered splitter, you know how much work preparing for winter can be. Needless to say, it took quite a bit more time and energy to prepare firewood to heat a room 200+ years ago when hand saws and axes were an individual’s only tools. Read More...
30,000 gallons of beer in the creek: Stroudsburg Brewery Co.
May 05 , 2014
In 1899, a group of citizens decided that Stroudsburg needed its own brewery to craft local beer. Stockholders formed the Stroudsburg Brewery Company and met to elect officers, choose managers, select a brew-master, and organize and submit the necessary paperwork to Harrisburg to apply for a charter. Read More...
Past industry in Saylorsburg: Glazed bricks
February 02 , 2014
During the turn of the 19th century, brick manufacturing in Saylorsburg was an important and well-respected industry, with its products marketed to communities both locally and throughout the United States. High-quality deposits of clay had been previously discovered in this portion of Monroe County, and savvy businessmen were able to extract this clay through mining to produce desirable, quality bricks needed for construction. Read More...
The early days of photography
March 03 , 2013
With the advent of early forms of photography, many Monroe County citizens lined up to have a remembrance of themselves taken. Unlike today when we experience being photographed regularly, folks living in the mid-19th century would dress in their best attire for portraits, knowing that this would perhaps be the one and only likeness taken of them in their lifetime. Read More...
Paradise fish hatchery oldest in state
May 05 , 2010
In 1902, a Monroe County business created an industry to sell this native fish species to the public. The Paradise Brook Trout Co. was the first licensed trout hatchery in Pennsylvania. Founded by a group of businessmen from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the hatchery is still operating today on Route 191 in Paradise Township. Read More...
Monroe County’s first world record
April 04 , 2010
On Easter Sunday in 1898, a special edition of the Stroudsburg Daily Times was printed, and in the process, a world record was broken. Only hours before, the paper used for the newspaper had been a living tree. It was all done to commemorate the Stroudsburg Daily Times’ fourth anniversary. Read More...
Swiftwater laboratory starts with Col. Slee
April 04 , 2009
In 1897, Richard Slee established Pocono Biological Laboratories in Swiftwater — his first client was the U.S. Army. Slee’s lab was the first and only company in the United States to produce France’s improved smallpox vaccine. Only one year later, Slee provided all of the vaccines used in Cuba during the Spanish-American War in 1898. Read More...
W.R. Van Vliet's Canning Jars
April 04 , 2008
Monroe County has had its share of individuals who have worked to make life a little better, or easier, for everyone. Warren R. Van Vliet was one such individual. During his inventive career, Van Vliet engineered canning jars that were better able to preserve foods than the other canning jars of his day. Read More...
Kmart Founder’s Life Begins, Ends Here
December 12 , 2007
During this time of year, many people search for the perfect gifts at multi-level shopping malls and the Internet. There was a time, however, when neither mega malls nor the Internet existed, and everyone shopped at small ìmom and popî stores in downtown districts. Sebastian Spering Kresge started with a handful of such small stores called Kresge’s Five and Dime, and through profitable business practices, he went on to form the well-known retail company, K-Mart.
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Tanning Hides Once Big Business
September 09 , 2007
The tanning industry has been a part of Monroe County’s history since the early 1800s. Because of the rich supply of both hemlock and oak trees, tanning became an important part of the area’s economy. Monroe County residents would often take their animal skins to local tanners to be turned into workable leather ready for market. While many area tanneries were very small and served the local community, some worked as large-scale businesses, producing leather for the national market. Read More...
Ice Becomes an Industry in Poconos
January 01 , 2007
One hundred years ago, Monroe County was a leader in northeastern Pennsylvania’s ice production and distribution business. The ice was initially harvested from our lakes for use locally by both residents and resorts catering to tourists. As demand for ice grew, Monroe County ice companies began to transport their ice to areas outside Monroe County including New York and Philadelphia. Although it hasn’t been so this year, the freezing winter temperatures of the Poconos guaranteed a large crop of ice and provided employment to hundreds of local citizens throughout northeastern Pennsylvania. Read More...
Old Mill in Sciota
September 09 , 2006
Along Business Route 209 in Hamilton Township stands a mill centuries old. Built by Jacob Brinker in 1730, this old mill was originally a log structure. By 1800, the mill had been replaced by the stone structure which stands today. Jacob Brinker and his mill played an early role in the shaping of America. Read More...
Stroudsburg’s ‘Sheep to Suit’ Record
February 02 , 2006
Mr. Thomas Kitson was born in England on June 7, 1840. From a young age, Kitson worked in a number of woolen mills where he gained the knowledge and skills of his trade. At 19, Kitson immigrated to America and was employed in a small mill in the Catskills of New York. Read More...
The Wilkes-Barre & Eastern Railroad
January 01 , 2006
During the late 1800s, anthracite coal was in high demand, and northeastern Pennsylvania boasted the largest concentrations of this natural resource in the entire country. At that time, this relatively clean-burning fossil fuel was used primarily to heat homes and businesses, and the greater Scranton and Wilkes-Barre area served as the central hub for coal mining.
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