The community was first settled in 1807. It was later incorporated as a borough in 1882. Like Luzerne County, the borough was named after Chevalier de la Luzerne, a French diplomat. In the early twentieth century, coal mining and manufacturing were the main industries in the community. The borough had coal mines, a foundry, drill factories, flour and feed mills, a canning factory, and a silk mill.
Geography
Luzerne is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of, all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,952 people, 1,410 households, and 767 families living in the borough. The population density was 4,299.3 people per square mile. There were 1,520 housing units at an average density of 2,213.7 per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 98.92% White, 0.34% African American, 0.07% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.44% of the population. There were 1,410 households, out of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.7% were married couplesliving together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.6% were non-families. 40.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.87. In the borough the population was spread out, with 17.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 88.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $27,614, and the median income for a family was $37,730. Males had a median income of $27,054 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,217. About 6.8% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.5% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.
