Delaware and Seneca tribes traveled through what is now southern Luzerne County to trade with other Native American settlements in New York and the Chesapeake Bay area.

The most common route for the Native Americans was known as "Warriors Path", which was also used by white settlers in the 18th century.

[3] Moravian missionaries were among the first Europeans to travel to the region; they wanted to convert Native Americans to Christianity.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Native Americans abandoned their territory in the east while European settlers continued to move into the region.

Logging remained the largest industry in southern Luzerne County until the 1830s, when anthracite coal was discovered under the land that had been cleared.

The expanding coal industry led to more extensive roads, railroads, and housing settlements.

For the next century, large amounts of coal from Hazle Township were shipped by train to the lucrative Philadelphia market.

On September 10, 1897, about 300 to 400 unarmed strikers, nearly all of Slovaks and Germans, marched to a coal mine owned by Calvin Pardee (in the town of Lattimer in Hazle Township) to support a newly formed UMW union.

The demonstrators were confronted by law enforcement officials several times on the road; they were ordered to disperse, but kept marching.

[6] While on a streetcar headed for Lattimer (with the sheriff and his comrades), one deputy was overheard saying "I bet I drop six of them when I get over there."

Although the region was in the midst of an economic recession, local leaders were determined to turn the economy around.

The company raised over $250,000 and was able to purchase over 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land, which was converted into an industrial park.

Today, retail development and housing construction are on the rise in Hazle Township.

Mountains, forests, creeks, lakes, and strip mines are also scattered throughout the township.

Its villages include Beaver Brook, Drifton, Ebervale, Green Ridge, Harleigh, Harwood, Hollywood, Humboldt, Japan, Jeanesville, Lattimer, Milnesville, Oakdale, Pardeesville, and Stockton.