Wilkes-Barre, city, seat (1786) of Luzerne county, northeastern Pennsylvania, U.S. It lies in the Wyoming Valley and along the Susquehanna River, 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Scranton. Wilkes-Barre is the hub of a metropolitan district embracing more than 30 contiguous municipalities.
Its permanent settlement began in 1769 when Maj. John Durkee, a veteran of the French and Indian War, settled a band of Connecticut colonists in the Wyoming Valley under grants issued by the Susquehanna Company. He named the town for John Wilkes and Isaac Barré, British politicians who were defenders of the American colonies in Parliament. The community survived the Pennamite-Yankee Wars, fought (1769–84) between Pennsylvania and Connecticut settlers over rival land claims, and conflicts with the Tories and Iroquois Indians, which culminated in the slaughter of settlers in the Wyoming Massacre (July 3, 1778) during the American Revolution. The punitive American expedition of 1779, led by Gen. John Sullivan against the Iroquois, was formed at Wilkes-Barre. Further trouble between warring settlers occurred, but by 1805 Connecticut had relinquished all its claims.
The major growth of the community came with the development of the coal industry in the early 19th century, which brought transportation facilities and an influx of European immigrants and led to the city being nicknamed “the Diamond City.” Coal mining waned from the 1930s, and the city developed a highly diversified economy with manufactures including glass, boilers, toys, steel fabrications, airplane parts, and electronic equipment, including semiconductors. Wilkes-Barre is the seat of Wilkes University (1933), King’s College (1946), and the Wilkes-Barre campus of Pennsylvania State University (Penn State Wilkes-Barre; 1916). Tablets mark the sites of Fort Wilkes-Barre, Forty Fort, and the Wyoming Massacre. Harveys Lake and resorts in the Pocono Mountains are nearby. A flooding of the Susquehanna River (caused by Hurricane Agnes) in 1972 resulted in widespread property damage. Inc. borough, 1806; city, 1871. Pop. (2000) 43,123; Scranton–Wilkes-Barre Metro Area, 560,625; (2010) 41,498; Scranton–Wilkes-Barre Metro Area, 563,631; (2023) 44,254; (2023 est.) Scranton–Wilkes-Barre Metro Area, 569,413.