The Greater Hazleton Area is located at the foothills of the Pocono Mountains, a popular vacation destination that offers year-round recreation.
It's the Greater Hazleton Area's excellent quality of life that makes the area so attractive to people and businesses from all around the world.
Golfing, fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, movies and wonderful restaurants... you name it and you'll likely find it around Hazleton.
And you'll see that many of Northeast Pennsylvania's best attractions are located within minutes of our city!
Please take a few minutes to browse this page, which contains a wealth of information not only about Greater Hazleton, but also about the Poconos, as well as Pennsylvania.
If you love to golf, the area has more than a dozen options, including public and private facilities.
In the mood for a sporting event? Visit the nearby Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (home of AHL hockey, arena football, concerts, circus events, business shows and more!). Pennsylvania is also home to several major sports franchises, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles football teams, Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies baseball teams and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers hockey teams.
Hazleton is also known for its proximity to Interstates 80 and 81, which places you within a couple hours of New York City and Philadelphia. Want to catch a Broadway show? Maybe hit Fifth Avenue for a shopping adventure? Or maybe you've never seen the Liberty Bell up close. Well, now you can.
If you have children, they'll be able to attend one of the most advanced school districts in the state. The Hazleton Area School District is unique in offering Early Intervention services designed to help children between the ages of three and five develop their potential while, at the same time, providing support for their families.
Many of the district's schools are equipped with state-of-the-art security systems that require visitors to ring a buzzer to be allowed inside. All school personnel wear photo identification badges, further enhancing safety.
Other educational opportunities exist in the Hazleton Area, both private and parochial. MMI Preparatory School in Freeland is one of the most highly recognized private schools and is currently accepting students in grades 6 through 12. Bishop Hafey Junior-Senior High School is Hazleton's largest Catholic school, with grades 7 through 12, located just across from Hazleton Area High School. Several parochial grade schools in Hazleton are also available.
Holy Family Academy, located at 601 N. Laurel St., Hazleton, is part of the Diocese of Scranton catholic schools. Holy Family Academy is an elementary and middle school that encompasses pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. Its dedicated faculty and staff creates a nurturing learning environment that provides students with the opportunity to grow spiritually, academically, socially, physically and morally.
Founded in 1979, Immanuel Christian School has been serving the Greater Hazleton area for over 40 years. ICS is a non-denominational, non-public school. We believe that Christian education is much more than just chapel and Bible class. We encourage an environment where students can grow in character, wisdom, and discernment to pursue the life God has called each of them to live. We have high academic standards with an emphasis on character development.
Upon graduation, students have several excellent opportunities for post-secondary education... starting just a few minutes outside the City of Hazleton at Penn State Hazleton.
Since the 1950s, Penn State University has had a Hazleton campus. Recently, the Hazleton campus started offering four-year degrees in selected fields, such as business administration and information sciences and technology. Still, many area students attend Penn State Hazleton for the first two years of their college career, then move on to the main campus at University Park, which is less than two hours to the east in State College, Centre County, to finish their degree.
Luzerne County Community College has a branch campus in the Broad Street Business Exchange in downtown Hazleton, offering associate's degrees, while Lackawanna College is also in downtown Hazleton and offers post secondary education.
When you or a loved one needs expert medical care, your options couldn't be better. The Lehigh Valley Health Network serves more than 100,000 people throughout Greater Hazleton, providing outpatient services. These include laboratory and cardiac testing, x-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, mammography, and bone density testing, same day surgery, endoscopic procedures and sleep lab studies.
Northeastern Pennsylvania, where Greater Hazleton is located, is best characterized by the Pocono Mountains, which lie mainly to the east and north. Where Pennsylvania meets New Jersey (along Interstate 80), is a tract of scenic land known as Delaware Water Gap. In 1829, the first steam locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion, made its maiden run in nearby Honesdale.
In Scranton, about 45 minutes to the north, you can steam into the history of railroading at the Steamtown National Historic Site, or dig deep into our coal mining past at the Pennsylvania Anthracite Heritage Museum. At the Lackawanna Coal Mine, you can even go 300 feet below ground to see what work is like for coal miners. You can also visit the old Scranton Iron Furnaces, which is now a cool, tree-lined park.
About a half hour south is Pottsville, home of Yuengling Brewery, the oldest in the nation. The brewery offers free tours.
While driving around the area, you will undoubtedly discover that golf is a favorite pastime in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Thirty-five challenging courses dot our countryside.
Numerous lakes and streams provide great fishing opportunities... just ask at any local fishing shop.
If you're feeling adventurous, it's just a 30-minute drive to Jim Thorpe, an historic little town that is also home to some of the best whitewater rafting in the East. Try Jim Thorpe River Adventures or Pocono Whitewater Adventures (also offering hiking, biking and paintball games).
There's more excitement at the Pocono International Raceway, where the NASCAR Winston Cup Series races twice each summer. And Pocono Downs near Wilkes-Barre offers live harness racing.
Looking to wager a couple dollars? Mohegan Sun Pocono, which is located just to the north in Wilkes-Barre, was the first slot machine casino to open in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. They also offer live harness racing for most of the year, too... some call it a "racino."
In the winter months, thirteen ski areas turn the Pocono Mountains into a winter wonderland. Montage Mountain, Camelback Ski Resort and Jack Frost Big Boulder are some of the larger ski areas in the Poconos.
In the summer, The Pavilion at Montage MountainMontage Mountain sports a huge concert series with big-name acts. And now with the opening of the new arena in Wilkes-Barre, more and more big name acts are coming to the area.
Each Fall, the Pocono Mountains come alive in a blaze of glorious colors: Norway maples and tulip poplars don varying shades of yellow; the black gums appear in maroon; sassafras, birch and sugar maples cover the orange spectrum. But the star of the show is the flamboyant red maple, with its brilliant scarlet foliage.
To the south, you will find some of Pennsylvania's more historical landmarks.
The Hershey/Dutch Country region is about one hour to the south by car and has plenty to offer.
First and foremost is Hershey, Pennsylvania, home to Hershey Chocolate and Hersheypark which offers 55 rides and six roller coasters, as well as 72 holes of golf, world-famous gardens, a nearby chocolate museum and zoo.
Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown is the area's other large amusement park, featuring a 210-foot steel roller coaster.
Knoebel's Amusement Resort in Elysburg provides old-fashioned family park fun, with one of the nation's most highly-regarded wooden coasters. It is also one of the largest free admission parks in the country.
Drive through the countryside and you'll see the Amish and Mennonites still comfortable in their old ways, traveling in horse-drawn buggies and raising barns by hand.
Another hour to the south, you can visit the Gettysburg Battlefield and reflect on Abraham Lincoln's brief, but powerful address.
If you're hungry for knowledge, consider our vast collection of museums. In Lancaster, there's the Landis Valley Museum, the largest Pennsylvania German museum in the United States. And the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, complete with tireless steam locomotives and plush Pullman sleepers. Meanwhile, on display in York, you'll find relics of firefighters at the Fire Museum; classic timepieces at the Watch & Clock Museum; and Native American artifacts at the Indian Steps Museum.
Greater Hazleton is one of the most interesting and fun areas in which you could choose to set up a business or raise a family!
The History of Hazleton
(This information was provided by the Greater Hazleton Historical Society)
Hazleton was incorporated as a borough by two acts of the state legislature, the first winning approval April 31, 1851, and a supplemental act being authorized April 22, 1856. A short time later, mining and banking pioneer George B. Markle became president of the first borough council.
The borough's fire department was not organized until 1866, after the town's 800-man contingent of soldiers returned home from the Civil War. The borough's population grew steadily until the 1880s when waves of eastern European immigrants poured in to take jobs created by the booming coal industry. In 1860, the borough's population as an estimated 4,000. In 1880, it reached 6,935 and, by 1890, it soared to 11,872.
The borough limits expanded in the 1880s and, by 1890, the borough's population had more than doubled.
The next year, on December 4, 1891, Hazleton was chartered as a city. In the early part of the 20th Century, Hazleton was a boomtown, its population increasing from 14,230 in 1900 to 25,452 in 1910. The population would peak at 38,009 in the 1940 census. With the decline of the anthracite coal industry which fueled this tremendous growth, the city's population also steadily decreased. Today, about 25,000 live in Hazleton.