Lackawanna County, created in 1878 from part of Luzerne County, was the last Pennsylvania county to be created. It was named for the Lackawanna River, a name that means “stream that forks.” It was created,after a 40-year fight with Luzerne County over the valuable coal fields in the region, which Luzerne County did not want to cede. Scranton, the county seat was incorporated as a borough in 1856, and named for the industrious local luminaries, the brothers Seldon and George Scranton. In 1847, the brothers had begun making iron T-rails for the Erie Railroad, and Scranton soon became a major producer of these rails. The Scrantons founded the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western railroad to transport iron and coal from the local mines. The massive anthracite mines created local wealth. They also created local miseries. Underneath the city of Scranton, low wage workers, some as young as 8 or 9, worked long days separating slate from coal. Mining deaths soared, and, inevitably, the American labor movement was born. Today, the county is moving toward a less industrial future. But Lackawanna County’s history is still that of the miners. Long labor strikes, brutal mine bosses, the Molly Maguires and their Pinkerton Agency adversaries are still the most enduring part of the anthracite region’s legacy.