History of Minooka by J. J. Powell (Circa 1932)

Minooka is a town excellently located for a residential district. It is about nine hundred feet above sea level and ten minutes drive from the center of the City of Scranton.

The inhabitants of Minooka are not troubled with smoke, ashes, dust, or the noise of railroad trains, or nauseous vapors which are so detrimental to many of the residential sections of the County of Lackawanna.

While we have the conveniences of and easy access to three steam railroads, yet the town is so located that we have none of the noises and smoke incident to their operation. In addition, we have the convenience of a ten-minute street railway service.

Like many other mining communities and as was the custom in the early history of mining, it adopted the name of its earliest mine operators and was known successively as Needham’s Patch, Davis’ Patch, Coary Hollow and Glen Newman, and finally Minooka.

How Minooka Got Its Name

An English captain named Carr owned and operated a mine in the vicinity of what is now the National Colliery of the Glen Alden Coal Company, and all of that section of the 20^th Ward, adjoining Minooka was originally known as Carr’s Patch. He had a niece who was very fond of an Indian maiden with the quaint name of Minooka, and she prevailed upon Captain Carr and the early settlers to call the community after her friend, the Indian maiden, hence the name Minooka.

The first dwelling built in Minooka was located upon Birney Avenue on the land now owned and occupied by Patrick Higgins, grocer. It was a large wooden structure and did not have a single nail in its entire construction. Wooden pegs being used throughout.

Many of the present residents remember the building but the name of the person or persons who owned and built it is always the subject of debate. As the story goes, it was built as a center for a group of peddlers (or merchants of the road) and used by them for many years. The first authentic owner was Joseph Nulkie, recently of Taylor.

The first Tavern stood upon the plot on Birney Avenue now owned by Jeremiah McCarthy, and was conducted by James Whitley and known as Whitley’s Red Tavern.

The first settler in this town was George Fassold, Sr., father of the late Christopher Fassold and George Fassold and grandfather of Mrs. George Janes and Minnie Fassold. George Fassold owned and built the second house in Minooka, which still stands on Coary Street.

Other pioneer settlers were Peter Steele, John McDonnell (father-in-law of our P.J. Mulkerin), William Costello (father of P.W.Costello, the renowned penman), Edward Philbin, known locally and affectionately as “Netzie,” John McDermot (father of Mac the Bookman), Robert Campbell (father of Mrs. Philip Connolly), William Connell (father of the late Hon. William Connell and grandfather of the late Hon. Charles Connell), Michael Fee (father of one of Minooka’s first school teachers, Patrick Fee), James Donnolly (father of Edward Donnolly), Thomas Duffy, known and called by his friends and neighbors as “Rock,” Owen Connolly (father of the late Judge Connolly, P.C. Connolly, and Mrs. F.A. Kane), Ira Tinklepaugh and David Hollenback.

Among what might be termed old residents of Minooka are the more familiar names to the present generation of McDonough, Gibbons, Mangan, King, Powell, Toole, Coyne, Walsh, McCarthy, Lydon, Higgins, Kane, Diskin, Fitzhenry, Ryan, Kelly, Lambert and Arnfield.

Mining of anthracite coal is the chief industry of this community and has been done on an extensive scale for upwards of sixty years. It would seem that in the early history of the anthracite industry, the mines were owned and operated by individuals, and we have such familiar names among the early operators in Minooka as Needham, E.A. Coary, Godshall, Davis, Carr and later such names as Connell, Jermyn, Brooks, Dale, while at present practically all of the mining operations within this community are carried on by the Glen Alden and the Hudson Coal Companies.

While the mining of coal has been carried on for upwards of sixty years, yet we believe there will be mining operations in this community in the lower veins for many years to come.

The original settlers were all engaged in the mining industry. They were of a sturdy manhood, looked beyond the horizon and had vision and saw to it that their sons would be better equipped, from the educational standpoint, and made many sacrifices for their education. So that today there are comparatively few of their off-springs engaged in the active mining of coal, and many of them are to be found among the clergy, the medical and legal professions. One of them has graced the judicial bench of Lackawanna County. In the financial and mercantile world they are well represented and uniformly successful.

The spirit of a community is largely reflected in the pleasures of its youth and their pastime pursuits, and if we may be permitted to say it, without desiring to be boastful or appearing to blow our own horn, the favorite pastime of our young men has been to gain fame and nation-wide prominence upon the baseball diamonds of big leagues of America, and to heed Uncle Sam’s call to arms and supply the American Army and Navy in time of need its greatest quota of soldiers and sailors based upon the population that was furnished by any community in the United States during the World War.

The first public school was opened in the fall of 1854 and the first plot of ground owned for school purposes is a portion of the plot upon which St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church and the Rectory now stands. The building used for school purposes still stands upon the plot and many of our present residents attended school in the building under the guidance of its first teacher, Professor Pat White.

Prior to 1872 there was no place of religious worship within the confines of Minooka and all of its residents, in order to attend religious services, walked to some church in the central city. Many of the early residents were members of St. Peter’s Cathedral Parish and it was said of them that when they walked three miles to religious services they never missed and were rarely late.

In was not until 1872 that the St. Joseph’s Parish was established and the present church built. The first pastor of this parish was the Rev. John Loughran, a man of sterling character, courageous to the core, a brilliant orator, with a cultivated taste for music and a most sympathetic manner with all who were in need of religious comfort and consolation, just the type of pioneer priest needed for the task of organizing St. Joseph’s Paris. Although called upon to render an account of his stewardship to the Great Master, more than a quarter of a century ago, his influence is still felt in this community and his name shall ever be spoken with respect by those who were fortunate enough to be members of his congregation and come under his spiritual guidance.

The early settlers were supplied with water for the family needs from four main sources, to wit: The Spout, The Old Log Well, The Bush Well, and Gannon’s Well, and many were the disputes among the urchins of those days as to whose turn came next. If the youths were disputing each other’s turn were of the male species they usually settled in man fashion, a custom in this town that has come down through the ages and is prevalent as it was fifty years ago. The town first had a water supply in 1884. The contractors for the main water line being two Minooka residents, Peter Mullen and John Kelly.

It was considered an every day occurrence for the residents of this town to walk to and from the central part of the City of Scranton, carry large packages of merchandise to their homes and feel benefited by the exercise; while at present a person who even thinks of walking to Central City is looked upon as a “Rare Bird.”

It was not until the year of 1891 that this town had street car service, which has been continuous ever since.

During the year of 1901, the Township of Lackawanna, which is the corporate name of Minooka, was changed from a second to a first class Township, and since that time efforts have been put forth with the town’s prosperity and growth, and by earnest efforts of its various officials we now enjoy practically all of the modern improvements found in any community of this kind and character, namely: good school buildings, street lighting, house delivery of mail, stone or concrete sidewalks, volunteer fire company, and last but not least a paved roadway on Birney Avenue.

A word about the paved road. Birney Avenue constitutes a portion of Route No. 5 of the State Highway Department, as ordained and established by the Sproul Bill during the Sessions of the Legislature in the year 1911. It has been a constant battle by the various Board of Commissioners and the Township Solicitor since that time to the present to have the road constructed.

The road had been promised to every Highway Commissioner since 1911 to the present time and it was not until 1924 that we were certain of its construction. Now that it is completed we believe that it will mean new life and vigor to the town and it will be well for the neighboring Boroughs to watch out for we intend to develop so rapidly that unless they wake up we may be absorbing them and have a new city south of Scranton, with Minooka at its center of business and social activity.

One of the prevailing characteristics of this town at the present time is a splendid community spirit. When a town has a proper town spirit and buries its petty jealousies and hostile attitude toward public improvement there is nothing that can prevent its progress, growth and enlightenment.

A town remains stagnant because of lack of confidence in itself or its officials or because it is unable to discern or indifferent to follow the advice or adopt the opinions of the person or persons who have the good of the community at heart.

The best illustration of the town spirit of this community, within the knowledge of the writer, is the organization of The Minooka State Bank with its entire capital over subscribed within its confines, and the hearty and healthy support it is receiving from the community at large, what that support means to the bank is best illustrated by the statement published in another part of this program.

That the bank stands for and will be of wonderful service, in the development of a bigger and better Minooka, goes without qualification.

This community boasts of a Volunteer Fire Company, whose membership is at all times ready and willing to make the sacrifice necessary to prevent conflagration and preserve and save harmless the homes, dwellings and business places from the ravages of fire, without any reward to them, except the knowledge and satisfaction of knowing that they have performed a service for the good of the community and have saved property from destruction and people from injury that usually follows in the wake of the fires.

The company has been organized for upwards of fifteen years, and by its own efforts has acquired the property upon which its hose house stands, which by the way is one of the landmarks of Minooka, as one of its first houses was erected upon the same spot.

The progress of the hose company might best be likened unto a boy taking his four year college course, Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior. Starting as a freshman, with its hose cart, it continued it in service until it passed into its sophomore year, and lo and behold it has a wagon, which was continued in service until the company passed unto its junior year and shown forth with a splendid motor hose truck, which has seen service for many years and the company is now in its senior year and about to blossom forth in all its glory with the most perfect type of modern fire fighting apparatus known to modern science, an American La France Fire Engine, complete with pumper, chemical extinguishers, hose and every device used in the best equipped fire companies of the Country.

And we, the people of Minooka, like the fond parent at his son’s graduation, stand by in admiration and point to you with local pride and say, “that’s our fire company and we’re proud of you.”

In fact the fire company has charge of this demonstration, “Old Home Week in Minooka.” It is due to their labors that arrangements are made for its celebration and it is the earnest hope of the writer that their efforts shall be amply rewarded because they stand for a community spirit that causes the Home Town to be enshrined in the hearts of its people.

Now that we have all of the improvements above mentioned and our bad roads are no longer the subject of part of every oration delivered in Minooka for the past twenty-five years, and we have the much desired improved highway which makes us part of Scranton, the metropolis of the Anthracite Coal Fields, and communication with our Southern neighbors is open, let us demonstrate to the surrounding country that the aim and object of the residents of Minooka is to grow and develop the idea home section of Lackawanna County and take our place among the great residential sections of Pennsylvania, to which we are, by virtue of location, environment and achievement, naturally entitled.

Written by J.J.P. (James J. Powell) and J.M.

Contributed by Tom Walsh