Concrete City

This place is on private property. Listing for informational purposes only. Please do not visit without express permission from the land owner. The only access to the area is to walk in from Front Street. The Concrete City was built by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Coal Company back in 1911. It was left abandoned  by the same company in 1924. There were 22 2-story homes that faced a courtyard with complete with a wading pool, tennis courts, playground, baseball field and a small pavillion. It is believed to be the first example of modern tract housing. Located in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, about 300 yards east of Middle Road between Lower Askam and the Hanover section of Nanticoke (there is a historical marker there on the side of the road). About 9 miles north of Glen Lyon. Concrete City opened in 1913 as housing for key employees and mine supervisors of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, Coal division who worked at the Truesdale Colliery. Each home had seven rooms and rent was $8.00/ month with concrete outhouses built behind each house. They were painted white with dark green trim. The main disadvantage of the concrete city was the dampness caused by moisture rising through the pourous concrete. Everything, including the roof is made of concrete. Each tenant was required to have a garden hose to wash the culm from the walls. Every two years, the coal company made all the necessary repairs and painted the entire town, inside and outside, papering any rooms as requested by the tenants. Only working coal miners were allowed to rent. The Glen Alden Company took possession of the property and did not want to spend $ 200,000.00 installing a sewer system required by the township. Demolition began in Dec. 1924. Glen Alden abandoned the complex, in place, because 100 sticks of dynamite had little impact on one of the buildings. Since then, the "city" has been used by the military, police, and fire departments for training. You can see large caliber hits on some of the walls. It was declared a historical site in 1988. Concrete City school, located close to Concrete City, was a two story red brick building built in 1913 and was also known as the Betsy Ross School and as the Lower Askam School. It housed 300 students. It was razed about 1979.