Cranberry Breaker

Cranberry’s story began in 1836 with the formation of the Hazleton Coal Company, the first owner of the site. A community began to grow around the mining operation, especially as the Hazleton area’s coal industry brought many immigrants from Europe in the late 1800s and 1900s. History as early as 1898 refers to workers at the Cranberry Breaker.

The operation became a subsidiary of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company and employed more than 300 workers at one time. The breaker was operational until April 30, 1947, and was destroyed by fire in August of 1951 after several years of vacancy and neglect.