Hazleton

Hazleton (hāˈzəltən) [key], city (1990 pop. 24,730), Luzerne co., E Pa., on a mountain top in an anthracite-coal region; inc. as a borough 1856, as a city 1892. Manufactures include apparel; foods; asphalt; and metal, fiberglass, and plastic products. The city is also a distribution center. Hazleton was settled c.1809. Its name derives from the hazel bushes that grew in the swamp called Haselschwamm by the early German settlers. The settlement increased in size and development after coal was discovered nearby in 1826. Coal production reached its peak during the two World Wars and then declined. A campus of Pennsylvania State Univ. is there.

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