During the early years of European colonization in the Americas, the area which today makes up the city of Hazleton sat at the intersection of two Native American trails.

Because of reports of Tory activity in the region, Captain Daniel Klader and a platoon of 41 men from Northampton County were sent to investigate.

Captain Klader's men made it as far north as present-day Conyngham, when they were ambushed by Tory militiamen and members of the Seneca tribe.

Though the Moravians called the region "St. Anthony's Wilderness", it eventually became known as "Hazel Swamp", a name which had been used previously by the Native Americans.

An entrepreneur named Jacob Drumheller decided that this intersection was the perfect location for a rest stop, so in 1809, he built the first building in what would later be known as Hazleton.

In 1818, anthracite coal deposits were discovered in nearby Beaver Meadows by prospectors Nathaniel Beach and Tench Coxe.

Knowing that the area of Beaver Meadows was already controlled by Coxe and Beach, Pardee bought many acres of the land in present-day Hazleton.

[6] Pardee incorporated the Hazleton Coal Company in 1836, the same year the rail link to the Lehigh Valley market was on the brink of being completed.

The following year, in 1893, his son, Israel Platt Pardee, built a three-story, 19-room mansion in Hazleton; it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

The coal mined in Hazleton helped establish the United States as a world industrial power, including fueling the massive blast furnaces at Bethlehem Steel.

Nineteenth century attempts by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) to organize in the anthracite region were largely unsuccessful.

Nineteen unarmed striking miners, mostly of Polish, Slovak, Lithuanian, and German ethnicity, were shot and killed in a confrontation with the Luzerne County sheriff's posse.

The local improvement associations who led this initiative were successful in attracting a number of firms, including several mills and a brewery.

The Duplan Silk Corporation opened in Hazleton in 1899, with financial support from local banks, the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and $10,000 from a fundraising drive.

After the 1900 and 1902 anthracite coal strikes, mine workers won some improvements to their working conditions, which they were able to build upon in ensuing contracts.

The diversification of the city's economy stabilized the population by allowing miners to establish families in the area, with women and children often working in silk or shirt manufacturing for supplemental wages.

This building was donated by independent coal operator John Markle and is still in use today as the Hazleton Area Public Library's children's department.

They were ordered back to work by the District 7 president of the UMWA, who insisted that they negotiate the dispute through the Anthracite Board of Conciliation as outlined in their contract.

In 1947, 22 consecutive days of rain flooded many Hazleton area mines and reduced year-to-date anthracite production by up to 35% below normal levels.

Local leaders sought to address these deficiencies by soliciting donations from the public to subsidize the establishment of the $3,500,000 Autolite plant.

[18] In 1997, the IWW returned to the Hazleton area in an effort to organize student workers at the Keystone Job Corps Center, but they found little success.

A rally held in response to the attack was attended by the Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs as well as local religious leaders and the Spanish-language media.

In 2004, a wave of attacks against apartments where immigrant workers were living was condemned by the Pennsylvania Governor's Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs.

[35][36] In 2006, Hazleton gained national attention as Republican Mayor Lou Barletta and council members passed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act.

After a trial and several appeals (including a remand from the Supreme Court), the Third Circuit found the ordinance invalid due to federal preemption.

Many Dominicans had moved to Hazleton from portions of New York City, including The Bronx and Brooklyn) and parts of North Jersey, such as Newark and Paterson.

Many Hispanic and Latino businesses are on Wyoming Street,[48] the linguistic landscape of which Spier and Ruano (2021) investigated in light of Barletta's aforementioned comments.

Greater Hazleton includes the City of Hazleton; the boroughs of Beaver Meadows, Conyngham, Freeland, Jeddo, McAdoo, Weatherly, West Hazleton, White Haven; the townships of Black Creek, Butler, East Union, Kline, Foster, Hazle, Rush, Sugarloaf; and the towns, villages, or CDPs of Audenried, Coxes Villages, Drifton, Drums, Ebervale, Eckley, Fern Glen, Haddock, Harleigh, Harwood Mines, Hazle Brook, Highland, Hollywood, Hometown, Hudsondale, Humboldt Village, Humboldt Industrial Park, Japan, Jeansville, Junedale, Kelayres, Kis-Lyn, Lattimer, Milnesville, Nuremberg, Oneida, Pardeesville, Quakake, St. Johns, Sandy Run, Still Creek, Stockton, Sybertsville, Ringtown, Sheppton, Tomhicken, Tresckow, Upper Lehigh, Weston, and Zion Grove.

Coca-Cola, American Eagle Outfitters, Hershey, Office Max, Simmons Bedding Company, Michaels, Network Solutions, AutoZone, General Mills, Steelcase, WEIR Minerals, EB Brands and Amazon.com[64] are just some of the large companies with distribution, manufacturing, or logistic operations in Hazleton.

It was a private elementary school at the corner of Church and Green Streets (the present-day site of Hazleton City Hall).