[6] The land area that became Carbondale was developed by William and Maurice Wurts, the founders of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, during the rise of the anthracite coal mining industry[5] in the early 19th century.

Carbondale has struggled with the demise of the once-prominent coal mining industry that had once made the region a haven for immigrants seeking work.

Immigrants from Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and from continental Europe came to Carbondale in the 19th and early 20th centuries to work in the anthracite and railroading industries.

[11] The Delaware and Hudson Canal Gravity Railroad Shops have been demolished, but were once listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Recently completed after years of highly visible construction, the four-lane Robert P. Casey Memorial Highway U.S. Route 6 runs from Interstate 81 near Scranton north past Carbondale with interchanges outside, but close to, the city limits.

As the city responsible for the importation of America's first steam locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion in 1829, Carbondale was once a main terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Railway.

Steamtown National Historic Site on occasion provides excursion trains originating from the Scranton Yard to the Carbondale Station for special events.