The Lackawanna Historical Society

The Lackawanna Historical Society Inspiring exploration of the history of Lackawanna County

Join us with the Scranton Area Community Foundation at the Century Club on Monday, June 8 at 5:30pm for a special progra...
05/30/2026

Join us with the Scranton Area Community Foundation at the Century Club on Monday, June 8 at 5:30pm for a special program about the Justice Bell, a 1915 symbol of the fight for women's suffrage! Scranton has ties to the bell- Kate Chapman, leader of the Lackawanna County Equal Franchise League, toured the state with the Justice Bell. A historical marker for Kate sits in front of the Century Club. Make your reservations here: https://safdn.org/event/justice-bell-pennsylvania-women-and-their-fight-for-the-vote/

The Hotel Casey had five dining spaces, but perhaps more importantly, it had an extensive cocktail menu. (The Casey brot...
05/29/2026

The Hotel Casey had five dining spaces, but perhaps more importantly, it had an extensive cocktail menu. (The Casey brothers fortune came from brewing and wholesale liquor sales, after all.) Entitled "Liquid Jewels from the Cask of Bacchus," it included a cocktail named The Casey as well as "another drink dispensed of malt and spirituous cheer" called the Anthracite Mint Julep. For the temperate, the hotel also served Casey Cliff spring water from the family farm in Glenburn.

Scranton's Hotel Casey, opened in January 1911, included an Italian-style dining room, a grill room, banquet rooms, and ...
05/28/2026

Scranton's Hotel Casey, opened in January 1911, included an Italian-style dining room, a grill room, banquet rooms, and the elegant Tudor-style "Palm Room," shown in this 1913 Board of Trade publication. Originally intended as a lighter space for ladies, the Palm Room was closed only two years after the hotel opened, with plans to convert the space into a pharmacy. It was redesigned as a dining room again in 1916, hosting orchestras and dancing, and converted again to a utilitarian cafeteria in 1919.

Are you feeling lucky?When the first tickets for the Pennsylvania lottery went on sale on March 7, 1972, most area vendo...
05/27/2026

Are you feeling lucky?

When the first tickets for the Pennsylvania lottery went on sale on March 7, 1972, most area vendors reported selling out within hours. Each 50-cent ticket gave purchasers a chance at more than 1,200 cash prizes ranging from $40 to $50,000 per million tickets sold, with a bonus $1,000,000 prize offered when tickets sales reached six million. Winning numbers were published in the newspaper; television and radio hosts were prohibited from announcing winners over the air. The first lucky number for a $50,000 winner was 447324-- obviously not this ticket in the LHS collection!

Explore your hometown! We're excited to announce our schedule of FREE architectural walking tours for this summer, each ...
05/26/2026

Explore your hometown! We're excited to announce our schedule of FREE architectural walking tours for this summer, each exploring a different part of Downtown Scranton. Mark your calendars, and please call the Society at 570-344-3841 to reserve your spot!

Happy ! Scranton native Frank J. Duffy was an electrical contractor who worked for the DL&W Railroad. When the US joine...
05/25/2026

Happy ! Scranton native Frank J. Duffy was an electrical contractor who worked for the DL&W Railroad. When the US joined the Great War in 1917, Duffy joined up as a Major with the Army’s 109th Engineer Regiment. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on April 3, 1918, he was in France with the 28th Division in May 1918. Duffy was killed while on a reconnaissance mission on August 17, 1918 near Courville, France.
Lt. Col. Duffy is buried at the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, but his legacy was preserved locally when Colonel Frank J. Duffy Memorial Park was established in Scranton in 1934. A statue of ‘The Spirit of the American Doughboy” was dedicated to Duffy in 1940. The statue was removed in 2016 during construction of the Harrison Avenue bridge; in 2018 Col. Francis J. Duffy Memorial Park was redesigned and a replica statue rededicated.

Friends, Lackawanna Past Times is getting in the spirit of ! We'll be joined by Bob Savakinus for our next episode, on ...
05/22/2026

Friends, Lackawanna Past Times is getting in the spirit of ! We'll be joined by Bob Savakinus for our next episode, on Friday, May 29 at 2pm, to remember the 1976 Bicentennial, from wooden nickels to the Freedom Train. Join us to look back as we prepare to celebrate 250 this summer!

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More than 1,000 supporters greeted Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton with signs and banners during his arrival at D...
05/21/2026

More than 1,000 supporters greeted Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton with signs and banners during his arrival at Des Moines Airport on June 15th, 1964. Having received a big boost in the Iowa polls against Senator Barry Goldwater, Scranton poses in front of the crowd after his relatively late entry into the Republican Party's battle for presidential nomination. In the end, Goldwater won the 1964 nomination with 883 delegates on the first ballot while Scranton had 214 delegate votes, but he's still one of Scranton's favorite sons.

To continue our presidential theme this week, we're following PA governor Bill Scranton on the campaign trail! On July 1...
05/20/2026

To continue our presidential theme this week, we're following PA governor Bill Scranton on the campaign trail! On July 13, 1964 at the Republican National Convention, the governor enjoyed an ear of corn while mingling with the Iowa party outside the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. Despite the high likelihood of Senator Barry Goldwater securing a possible first ballot nomination for president, Governor Scranton continued to campaign wholeheartedly.

Did you know the "Electric City" sign was temporarily replaced with campaign advertising? In September 1960, the "Citize...
05/19/2026

Did you know the "Electric City" sign was temporarily replaced with campaign advertising? In September 1960, the "Citizens for Bill Scranton" Committee rented the sign atop Downtown Scranton's Electric Building for the purpose of promoting Bill Scranton's congressional campaign. Instead of the usual "Scranton the Electric City," it reads "Elect Bill Scranton" in bright neon lights. Scranton would soon win the election for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District. We were delighted to find this unknown gem in the Scranton Times' archive.

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232 Monroe Avenue
Scranton, PA
18510

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

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