Best Web Design in Wilkes-Barre, PA (2026)

Web Design for Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre is the seat of Luzerne County in northeastern Pennsylvania's Wyoming Valley, a former anthracite-coal boomtown nicknamed the Diamond City for the 'black diamonds' mined beneath it. Its fortunes rose with coal and immigrant labor and fell with the 1959 Knox Mine Disaster and the catastrophic 1972 Agnes flood, after which it reinvented itself around healthcare, universities, and services. The city carries an unusual two-part name honoring British MPs John Wilkes and Isaac Barre, who defended the American colonies in Parliament.

AppWT works with Wilkes-Barre, PA businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Wilkes-Barre

Also known as. The Diamond City. Coal City. W-B.

History. Founded in 1769 by Connecticut settlers and named for British Parliament members John Wilkes and Colonel Isaac Barre. Incorporated as a borough in 1806 and as a city in 1871. The Battle of Wyoming (1778) saw Fort Wilkes-Barre abandoned and burned during the Revolutionary War. The 1959 Knox Mine Disaster, when the Susquehanna River broke into mine tunnels, effectively ended large-scale anthracite mining in the region. Tropical Storm Agnes in June 1972 pushed the Susquehanna to 41 feet and flooded downtown with about nine feet of water. In September 2011, flooding from Tropical Storm Lee crested the Susquehanna at a record 42.66 feet.

Local economy. Built on anthracite coal, which drew hundreds of thousands of European immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Historic industry included Vulcan Iron Works (locomotives, 1849 to 1954), Planters Peanuts (founded here in the early 20th century), and Stegmaier Brewery. Population peaked above 86,000 around 1930 before the coal collapse; the 2020 census counted about 44,300. Now a regional hub for healthcare, higher education, and services.

Culture and community. Strong Polish and Eastern European food traditions: pierogi, potato pancakes (placki), and halushki are community-event staples. The Fine Arts Fiesta, running for about 70 years, is one of the region's longest-running arts festivals, held on Public Square each May. During the Fiesta the Irem Temple Shriners fry nearly 8,000 potato pancakes from some 200 gallons of batter over four days. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL, Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate) play at nearby Mohegan Sun Arena; the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are the Yankees' Triple-A club. Home to Wilkes University and King's College, giving downtown a college-town presence. The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts anchors the downtown arts scene.

What makes Wilkes-Barre distinct. Modern pay-TV history was made here: HBO launched its first cable programming to Wilkes-Barre-area subscribers on November 8, 1972. The nickname 'Diamond City' refers to anthracite coal, prized as 'black diamonds' for its clean, hot burn. The city's hyphenated name honors two Britons, a rare U.S. place name drawn from Parliamentary allies of the American cause.

Wilkes-Barre Landmarks and Local Life

• Public Square - the historic central plaza and civic heart of downtown
• F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts - a restored 1938 movie palace turned concert hall
• Luzerne County Courthouse - a domed Beaux-Arts landmark on the riverfront
• River Common - a riverfront park with an amphitheater completed in 2010 along the Susquehanna
• The nearby Wyoming Monument commemorating the 1778 battle.