The State of Westmoreland was a proposed self-proclaimed state that would have seceded from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in 1784, after the

Congress of the Confederation The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...

had ruled that the territory belonged to Pennsylvania rather than

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

History

Yankee-Pennamite Wars

Both Pennsylvania and Connecticut claimed ownership of the lands between 41° N and 42° N, and this gave rise to a series of land-conflicts collectively referred to as the Yankee-Pennamite Wars (intermittently from 1769 to 1799). By the conclusion of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, the states had made conflicting land grants in the region and independently organized it politically. Connecticut created a County of Westmoreland, with a representative seated in its assembly from the Connecticut-settled

Wyoming Valley The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal mines. As a metropolitan ar ...

, while Pennsylvania included the settled regions in its Northumberland County. The

was asked to decide on the legal owner. With the Decree of Trenton on December 30, 1782, the confederation government officially decided that the region belonged to Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania ruled that the Connecticut settlers ("Yankees") were not citizens of the Commonwealth, could not vote, and were to give up their property claims. In May 1784, Pennsylvania armed men force-marched the Connecticut settlers away from the valley. In November, they returned with a greater force and captured and destroyed Fort Dickinson. With that victory, Captain John Franklin proposed that a new state separate from both Connecticut and Pennsylvania be created, to be called Westmoreland.

Compromise

To avoid further armed conflict, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania reversed its earlier decision about the Connecticut/Yankee settlers. It agreed that Yankee property claims that predated the Decree of Trenton should be honored, with compensation in the form of fresh grants being awarded to those holding conflicting Pennsylvania claims. Most Connecticut Yankees accepted the proposed compromise, part of which involved separating a sizable part of Northumberland County to organize a new county. On September 23, 1786, the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvani ...

created

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeaste ...

, named for the French minister the

Chevalier de la Luzerne Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown (Belgium), Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold (Belgium), Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Be ...

. This newly organized county encompassed a large area; Lackawanna, Wyoming, Susquehanna, and part of Bradford counties were later formed from its territory. While this compromise brought an end to the proposed state, political discord among residents associated with the land conflict continued into the 19th century. Note that both

Westmoreland County, Connecticut Westmoreland County, Connecticut was a county established by the State of Connecticut in October 1776, encompassing the present-day area of Wyoming Valley, in northeastern Pennsylvania. Both colonies claimed this territory and the issue was further ...

, and the proposed State of Westmoreland are unrelated to the current Westmoreland County (located in southwestern Pennsylvania). It was created by an Act of the Assembly and approved on February 26, 1773 by

Governor of Pennsylvania The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

Richard Penn. Connecticut, having lost control of the Wyoming Valley, held back in compensation an equivalent 120-mile strip of territory from its release of western land claims, starting at the Pennsylvania border, and this section of NE Ohio is now known as the Western Reserve.

References

Footnotes to history

History of Luzerne County

History of Westmoreland County
{{DEFAULTSORT:Westmoreland, State of History of Connecticut History of Pennsylvania Proposed states and territories of the United States