Freeland is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The ZIP code is 18224.
Freeland at a Glance
Source - U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, 2020-2024.
About Freeland
Freeland was founded by Joseph Birkbeck, an English immigrant who settled the area in the 1840s, and incorporated as a borough on September 11, 1876. Earlier names included Birkbeckville and Freehold.
Coal drove its growth. Birkbeck opened mines nearby, and the work drew Italian, Polish, Irish, German, and Slovak families who filled the borough's tight residential blocks. Saints Peter and Paul, organized here in 1883, is recognized by a state historical marker as the first Slovak Evangelical Lutheran congregation in the Western Hemisphere; the present church building went up in 1886. Mining held on into the mid-20th century, then fell off through the middle of the century as the collieries of the Eastern Middle field closed.
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Freeland is home to MMI Preparatory School, a college-prep academy founded in the coal era and still open. Byzantine Catholic Bishop Basil Schott was born here in 1939.
Freeland covers two-thirds of a square mile, encircled by Foster Township. It sits about 18 miles south of Wilkes-Barre and 10 northeast of Hazleton, tied to the Hazleton job market at small-borough prices. Coal-era frame and brick homes make it an affordable entry point in southern Luzerne County.
Current Listings in Freeland
A selection of active properties.
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