Scranton, industrial city, seat of Lackawanna County, northeastern Pennsylvania, on the Lackawanna River; settled 1771, incorporated 1866. Situated in a long, narrow valley, Scranton is a transportation and manufacturing center. Products manufactured in the city include clothing, plastic goods, fabricated metal, electronic equipment, and printed materials. The University of Scranton (1888) and Marywood University (1915) are here. The history of steam railroading is preserved at Steamtown National Historic Site in downtown Scranton, which includes museums, a restored railroad yard and roundhouse, and working steam locomotives. The city's Nay Aug Park includes the Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science, and Art.
The community was developed chiefly by George W. Scranton, who with several associates in 1840 erected anthracite coal-fired iron furnaces here. He also started a steel industry, which thrived until 1902, when production was moved closer to Lake Erie. Scranton then became a mining hub until nearby anthracite production declined in the late 1940s. The city developed a successful plan, in the 1950s, to diversify the existing economy and attract additional industry. Population 88,117 (1980); 81,805 (1990); 74,683 (1998 estimate).
