RICH IN HISTORY

First settled in 1864 when William Pentecost opened a lumber mill by the Lackawanna River, the new town of “Forest Mills” grew from just 50 people in 1865 to over 6,000 by the 1920s. Coal became the fuel for our booming economy, attracting families from the UK, Italy, Eastern Europe and Prussia — many whose descendants still call our area home. Like so many small towns across a struggling America, the Great Depression took its toll; yet our rugged local miners, mill workers and determined immigrants held forth. You’ll still find historic buildings from that time, names engraved in granite, turn-of-the-century tin ceilings above. They’re now occupied by new families of entrepreneurs, shopkeepers and professional services.

Visit us today, and if you like, learn more about our past through our nearby museums and historical resources: