INDEPTH: US ELECTION 2004
Wilkes-Barre – battleground city
CBC News Online | October 22, 2004
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., is a battleground city in a battleground state. Both George Bush and John Kerry have made campaign stops in Wilkes-Barre. So have advocacy and get-out-the-vote groups.
On Tuesday, Oct. 26, The National will broadcast from Wilkes-Barre as part of CBC News Inquiry: Election U.S.A.
Wilkes-Barre – quick facts
History
The city was founded in 1768 by a group of largely English settlers and named for two colonial politicians, John Wilkes and Isaac Barre. The late-18th century was marked by conflict with local First Nations – the Shawanee, Delaware and Nanticoke tribes.
Wilkes-Barre became known as the Diamond City in the mid-19th century, not because of diamonds, but because of rich deposits of anthracite coal. The city boomed, with economic spinoffs from the successful mining industry bringing other industries, mills, factories and breweries. The city's garment industry also began in the mid-19th century with factories that provided clothing to local mining families. But it also produced luxury goods, especially silk.
President Bush speaks to supporters during a stop at the F.M. Kirby
Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Wednesday, Oct. 6,
2004. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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During this time, the region attracted thousands of new immigrants. Local historians say that about a quarter of the mineworkers were boys as young as seven, working in narrow shafts and sorting coal. There were few safety rules, and injuries and deaths, mainly from falling rock, were common.
Wilkes-Barre began to decline economically after the stock market crash of 1929.
While the mining industry kept going, consumers in the northeast United States were switching to natural gas, oil and electricity. By the end of the Second World War, the local unemployment rate was 12 per cent.
In 1959, the Susquehanna River flooded and pushed through a shaft at the Knox Mine that was built too close to the river bank. Millions of litres of water poured into the breach, flooding almost the entire network of underground mines, destroying the industry.
In 1972, there was another disaster when Tropical Storm Agnes brought a second flood, which destroyed 25,000 homes, damaged more than 2,000 businesses and caused about $1 billion in damage.
Much of the city of Wilkes-Barre has now been rebuilt.
Demographics
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., greets
supporters after delivering a speech at the Kirby Center for the
Performing Arts in Wilkes Barre, Penn. Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2004. (AP
Photo/Gerald Herbert)
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Population
According to the 2000 United States census, the population of the city of Wilkes-Barre was 43,123, The city is 92.30 per cent white, 5.09 per cent African-American, 0.11 per cent native American, 1.58 per cent Hispanic or Latino and .79 per cent Asian.
Households
- 23 per cent have children under 18
- 36.5 per cent are married couples
- 14 per cent are single-mother households
- 18.6 per cent are people over the age of 65 living alone
Income ($US)
- Median income for a household is $26,711
- Median income for a family is $36,630
- Per capita income in the city is $15,050
Age
- 19.9% under 18
- 12.6% 18 to 24
- 26.1% 25 to 44
- 20.8% 45 to 64
- 20.6% 65 and older
John Mellencamp performs with his band Friday, Oct. 1, 2004, at the
F.M. Kirby Performing Arts Center in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Mellencamp, a
supporter of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, is part of
the Vote for Change tour which got underway Friday with concerts in
various cities. (AP Photo/Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, Pete G. Wilcox)
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Labour force
In August 2004, the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area had a civilian work force of 317,900. Of those, 297,400 are listed as employed and 20,600 are listed as unemployed. The area has an unemployment rate of 6.5 per cent.
Employment by sector
- Government 12.71%
- Construction 3.34%
- Mining 0.14%
- Manufacturing 19.44%
- Transportation 3.29%
- Wholesale 5.22%
- Retail 18.29%
- Finance 4.73%
- Public utilities 2.66%
- Service/health/legal/education 30.18%
Indicators
The Scranton-Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area ranks 80th overall among U.S. cities the best place of live.
- 115th in the arts
- 170th in cost of living
- 11th in crime rate
- 65th in education
- 70th in health care
- 100th in recreation
Sources: Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, State of Pennsylvania, U.S. Dept of Labor
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| QUICK FACTS: |
Voting age population (VAP) in 2000:
205,815,000
Eligible voters (VEP) in 2000:
193,199,543
Voter turnout (% of VEP) in 2000:
54.5%
Numbers of seats up for election (2004):
House: 435 (all of them)
Senate: 34 (of 100)
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