The annual Luzerne County Fair is part of a long tradition of entertainment and recreation in the Back Mountain area. Earlier activities included picnicking and steamboat rides on Harveys Lake, which was readily accessible from Wilkes-Barre from 1896 on, by way of a trolley car line.

To help support this line, the Wilkes-Barre, Dallas and Harveys Lake Railway Company built the Fernbrook Amusement Park. Located on the site of what is today Offset Paperback Company, Fernbrook was an outstanding resort. Among other things, it featured big name bands and national radio and movie personalities such as Rudy Vallee, Les Brown, Glenn Miller, Wayne King, Guy Lombardo and many others. One of the Dallas Area’s most popular events, the Easter Egg Hunt, also took place in Fernbrook.