Sadly, indifference erased one historical treasure...

… you can help avoid a repeat performance

HISTORY HAPPENED here.

In 1808 a tavern owner named Jesse Fell successfully burned “stone coal” on an open grate in his fireplace at this Wilkes-Barre site, igniting a sensational string of events.

Homes soon switched to the relatively clean-burning fuel. An entire industry – anthracite mining – arose in the region, wooing immigrants from Europe and spurring the growth of Wyoming Valley towns. Coal extracted from beneath Luzerne County became coveted by factories in Philadelphia, New York City and other urban centers, helping to power the Industrial Revolution.

The Fell tavern’s famous fireplace and chimney survived at the corner of South Washington and East Northampton streets even after the original building was replaced in 1905.

But nearly 180 years after Fell’s sizzling innovation, in 1986, the building that housed the fireplace was demolished.

The empty parcel – a grassy space that visionaries might have turned into an attractive flower garden – recently was paved and converted to a parking lot.

Today, passersby might notice a state historical marker denoting the site’s significance to American heritage. Or they might walk past, unaware of the irreplaceable things that have been obliterated by bulldozers and asphalt.

HISTORY HAPPENED here, too.

In 1807 early Wyoming Valley settlers worshiped for the first time at a newly constructed building in Forty Fort called Union Chapel. The stately New England-style church reminded these pioneering families of their roots in Connecticut.

Methodists and Congregationalists (later called Presbyterians) each used the building for their separate worship services.

Thirty years later, after the denominations built new churches, the building become a sort of town hall, or gathering spot, hence its better-known name as the Forty Fort Meeting House.

Now turning 200, it is believed to be one of the five oldest buildings standing in the Wyoming Valley and perhaps the oldest church in all of Northeast Pennsylvania. In 1988 the meeting house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Guides traditionally have offered Sunday afternoon tours of the place. And the space has been rented for many wedding ceremonies, musical performances and other appropriate public events.

About two years ago concerned residents who serve on the volunteer Forty Fort Meeting House Preservation Committee made it known that the weather-beaten, wooden structure was sagging. It needs major renovations, including foundation repairs and other fixes.

The committee so far has succeeded in collecting about $253,000 in donations and grants. Supporters hope to raise another $200,000 or so during the structure’s bicentennial year to cover repair costs and create an endowment fund that would pay for future maintenance.

What happens next on this lot is largely up to you.

To donate, make checks payable to the Forty Fort Meeting House Preservation Fund. Mail c/o the Forty Fort Cemetery Association Office, 20 River St., Forty Fort, PA 18704.

To get updates on bicentennial activities, visit this Web site: www.fortyfortmeetinghouse.org.

To volunteer as a tour guide or lend other support, call the Forty Fort Cemetery’s office at 287-5214.

©The Times Leader 2007