Jenkins Harding Cemetery

Given by Judge John Jenkins in 1778, the Jenkins-Harding Cemetery is located at the intersection of Wyoming Avenue and Linden Street. John Jenkins, a member of the Society of Friends, was sent on behalf of the Susquehanna Company from Connecticut to explore the Wyoming Valley and facilitate the purchase of the Indians’ interest in the Valley. After the 1754 Indian treaty, Judge Jenkins became the first owner of these lands, setting aside a half acre as a public burial ground.

The first interment occurred July 2, 1778, being brothers Benjamin and Stuckley Harding, killed by Indians two days before on June 30. The Harding’s father, Captain Stephen Harding, brother-in-law of Judge Jenkins, is buried in the Cemetery along with his wife Amy Gardner and daughter Jemima Harding Williams.

Though Judge Jenkins is buried elsewhere, his wife, Lydia Gardner, was laid to rest in the Cemetery on October 22, 1804. Sons Benjamin, Stephen and Captain Thomas with more than forty of their descendants are buried in the cemetery as well.

The Cemetery is currently maintained through an endowment fund held at the Luzerne Foundation.

Click here to donate for cemetery preservation.