George W. Scranton

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George Whitfield Scranton (May 11, 1811 - March 24, 1861), was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

George Scranton was born in Madison, Connecticut. He attended Lee’s Academy. He moved to Belvidere, New Jersey in 1828 and became a teamster. From 1835 to 1839, Scranton was interested in agricultural pursuits and in the latter year engaged in the manufacture of iron, and began experimenting with the practicability of smelting ore by means of anthracite coal in Slocum (now Scranton, PA). He was the founder of the Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company and the city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He projected and constructed the Northumberland division of the Lackawanna Railroad. He was the president of two railroad companies. He was elected to congress as a Republican in 1858 to the 36th Congress and served until his death in Scranton. He was the second-cousin to Joseph A. Scranton.