History of Incorporation
About 90 years ago,
Dupont
was called the Smithville section of Pittston
Township. Prior to incorporation, it was determined that another town in the
Commonwealth was called Smithville, and so this section of Pittston Township
had to be changed. The name was changed to the
Dupont
section of Pittston
Township after a local industry in the area, The
Dupont
Powder Mill. Around
1914, an organization came about of dissatisfied township residents called,
"THE INDEPENDENT CIVIC LEAGUE OF DUPONT".
This organization was the forerunner of the group that was instrumental in
incorporating the borough in 1917.
They gathered together for better streets, a better tax collection system and
other services that Pittston Township officials were denying them. The
organizers of the civic league were:
Theordore Bielarski
of Main Street,
Lawrence Kluck
of Lincoln Street,
Lawrence
Pliss
of Church Street (Now Lackawanna Avenue),
Paul Shubert
Main Street,
Stephen & John Lukasik
of Church Street,
Albert Strucke
of Chestnut Street and
John Sefchick
of Smith Street.
After the organization was chartered in 1915, the group of members made plans
to have all the property owners and taxpayers of the
Dupont
section of Pittston
Township sign a petition which was presented to the Luzerne County Court to
separate themselves from Pittston Township.
In May of 1917, the first election was held in the
Independent Borough of
Dupont
, and
Albert Strucke
was elected the first Burgess (now they are called
Mayors) and
Paul Shubert
was elected tax collector, and
Joseph Lukasik
, first Police Chief.
Council members elected were:
John Zaranick , Andrew Naby, John Fabian, Jacob Newman, Harold Friend, Mike
Redicka, William Lis
and
Anthony Martone
.
School Directors elected were:
Joseph Ziobro, Martin Sedlak, John Vida, Joseph Shambe
, and
Charles Bellas
.
I do not know who wrote this story of the beginning of
Dupont
, but most of the
information contained in this letter has been verified by records of that time
period. The only descrepancy I have found in the story, is how the name
Dupont
came into being. Some sources state that the
Dupont
Powder Mill did not come
into being untill after
Dupont
already had its name. Those sources say that the
name
Dupont
was actually arrived at by naming the borough after a PostMaster of
the area, whose name was
Dupont
.
COURT DECREE
Now, this 26th day
of March, A.D. 1917,
on motion of Frank P. Slattery, solicitor for petitioners, and upon due
consideration of the petition, and after an
examination of the proofs of publication hereto attached, and after full
investigation of the case, presented by the
petition to incorporate the town of village of
Dupont
, Pittston Township,
Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, the Court finds
that the conditions prescribed by law have been complied with and believes that
it is expedient to grant a prayer of the
petitioners, and does grant the same and decree that the said town or village
of
Dupont
be incorporated as or into a
borough, in conformity to the prayer of the petitioners, that the corporate
name, style and title thereof shall be the
Borough of Dupont
; that the boundaries of the said borough shall be as follows;
Beginning at a corner of the Borough of
Avoca in line of the borough of Avoca; thence along asid Avoca Borough line
easterly one hundred nineteen (119 p.)
perches, or about one thousand nine hundred and sixty-three and five-tenths
(1963.5 ft.) feet to a corner of same;
thence along another line of the said Avoca borough in a southeasterly
direction about one hundred and eleven (111 p.)
perches, about one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one and five-tenths
(1831.5 ft.) feet to another corner of said
Avoca borough; thence along another line of the same northeasterly about two
thousand nine hundred and twenty-five
(2925 ft.) feet; thence leaving said Avoca borough line in a southeasterly
direction about four hundred and ninety
(490 ft.) to a corner on a line between the first and second division of
Certified Pittston Township; thence followin the line between lot forty-two and
forty-three on second division of Certified Pittston Township, south sixty-one
(61 )
degrees east, about thirty-six hundred (3600 ft.) feet to a corner on the back
line of said second division of Certified
Pittston Township; thence along said back division and along the line of lots
numbers 42, 41, 40, 39 and 38 south
twenty-five (25 ) degrees thirty (30 min.) minutes went about six thousand and
fifty (6,050 ft.) feet to a corner; thence
along the line between lots numbers 38 and 37 of second division of Certified
Pittston Townsip, north sixty-one (61 )
degrees west about thirty-six hundred (3600 ft.) feet to a point where Third
Street intersects said line; thence along the
center line of said Third Street south twenty-five (25 ) degrees thirty (30
mon.) minutes west about twelve hundred
(1200 ft.) feet to a point where said Third Street intersects the line between
lots numbers 37 and 36 of the second
division; thence along said line between said lots, north sixt-one (61 )
degrees west about one thousand seven
hundred and sixty (1,760 ft.) feet to a corner on the division line between
fist and second division of Certified Pittston
Township; thence along said division line north forty (40 ) degrees east about
two hundred and fifty (250 ft.) feet to a
corner; thence along the line between lots numbers 63 and 64 of first division
of Certified Pittston Township, north
sixty-five (65 ) degrees west about two thousand eight hundred and seventy
(2,870 ft.) feet to the center line of the
Delaware and Hudson Railroad; thence along the center line of the said Delaware
and Hudson Railroad in a
northeasterly direction about two thousand and twenty-five (2,025 ft.) feet to
a point where said center line intersects
the line between lots numbers 63 and 62 of first division of Certified Pittston
Township; thence along said line between
lots numbers 63 and 62 north sixty-five (65 ) degrees west, about four hundred
(400 ft.) feet to a corner of the Rasselas Searle Tract; thence along the line
between said Searle Tract and Lacole and Shiffer, north forty (40 ) degrees
east,
about two hundred (200 ft.) feet to a point in the center line of the
Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad; thence
following the center line of said Lackawanna and Wyoming Valley Railroad in a
northeasterly direction about one
thousand nine hundred and fifty (1,950 ft.) feet to a point on the line between
lots numbers 62 and 61; thence north
sixty-five (65 ) degrees west, about two thousand three hundred and fifty
(2,350 ft.) feet to a corner; thence north
thirty-nine (39 ) degrees forty-two (42 min.) minutes east, about four hundred
and twenty (420 ft.) feet to a corner in
line of Hughestown Borough, north fifty (50 ) degrees thirty (30 min.) west
fifty (50 p.) perches, or about eight hundred
and twenty-five (825 ft.) feet to a place of beginning.
Comprising or containing parts of lots numbers
30, 59, 60, 61, 62 and 63 of the first division of Certified Pittston Township,
and all of the lots numbers 42, 41, 40, 39,
38 and part of lot number 37, of second division of Pittston Township.
It is further
ordered and decreed that the said
borough shall constitute a separate election district and that the place for
holding the fist borough election of officers
to serve until the next regular borough election shall be at the Volunteer Hose
House,
Dupont
, and that the time for
holding said election shall be the Eighth day of May, 1917, between the hours
of seven o'clock in the forenoon and
seven o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, in accordance with the subject
to all the provisions of the laws relating
to and regulating borough elections.
And the said
election shall be held by the following named persons and clerks to be
appointed by them, according to law:
Jos. Zrobro, Judge
Jos. Castner,
Majority Inspector
Albert Sabatelle,
Minority Inspector
And the court
further designates and appoints
Robert Curtis as the proper person, who at least ten days before the day above
appointed for the election of borough
officers, shall give public notice by ten or more printed or written
advertisements affixed at as many of the most public
places within said borough of the time and place of holding said election, and
shall also within six days after the
election of officers at said election give notice in writing to the persons
chosen or elected of their election of the said
offices biannually thereafter in odd numbered years the borough election shall
be held at the time and place provided
by law.
It is further
ordered and decreed that
the borough so incorporated shall constitute a separate school district of the
fourth class to be designated and known
as the "School District of the
Borough of Dupont
," and the following are hereby
appointed a board of school directors to
serve until the first Monday of December, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and
seventeen, namely: Theodore Bilarski,
George McCoola, Charles B. Bellas, Morris Keefe and Frank Kleynowski.
(Signed) By the
Court, Garman, J.
Now, March 28,
1917, opinion filed.
Filed November 8,
1916.
