FORTY FORT - A BRIEF LOOK AT THE TOWNForty Fort, Pennsylvania. This odd sounding little borough at the foot of the Pocono Mountains in the northeastern portion of the state, actually got its name from the first forty settlers who built a fort there during America's revolutionary days. It became a borough in 1887. During the end of the 19th century and through the first half of the 20th century, Forty Fort was at the center of the coal mining industry. But, by the early 1960's, coal mining's heyday was over. The Susquehanna River, which had flooded many sections of the Wyoming Valley on several occasions over the years, always seemed to spare Forty Fort. But that changed in 1972, when Hurricane Agnes turned its furious wrath on the unsuspecting citizens. However, the people of the community united, and today the borough remains as the crown jewel of the west side of the Wyoming Valley. |