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Coordinates: 41°49′N 75°48′W / 41.82°N 75.80°W / 41.82; -75.80
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*Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Chris Jones Republican
*Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Chris Jones Republican
*Coroner, Tony Conarton, Republican
*Coroner, Tony Conarton, Republican
*District Attorney, Bill Urbanski, Republican
*District Attorney, Bill Urbanski, Republican
*Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills, Michelle Estabrook, Republican
*Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills, Michelle Estabrook, Republican
*Sheriff, Lance Benedict, Republican
*Sheriff, Lance Benedict, Republican

Revision as of 20:25, 3 January 2018

Susquehanna County
County
The Susquehanna County courthouse in Montrose
The Susquehanna County courthouse in Montrose
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Susquehanna County
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Map of the United States highlighting Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 41°49′17″N 75°48′02″W / 41.82133°N 75.80068°W / 41.82133; -75.80068
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
FoundedOctober 13, 1812
Named forSusquehanna River
SeatMontrose
Largest boroughForest City
Area
 • Total832 sq mi (2,150 km2)
 • Land823 sq mi (2,130 km2)
 • Water8.7 sq mi (23 km2)  1.0%
Population
 • Estimate 
(2015)
41,666
 • Density51/sq mi (20/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district10th
Websitewww.susqco.com

Susquehanna County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 43,356.[1] Its county seat is Montrose.[2] The county was created on February 21, 1810, from part of Luzerne County[3] and later organized in 1812.[4] It is named for the Susquehanna River.

History

Settlement and conflict

The first settlers began to move into the area from Philadelphia and Connecticut in the mid 1700s. At the time, the area was part of Luzerne County. As more and more people from Connecticut moved in, there began to be some conflict. Under Connecticut's land grant, they owned everything from present day Connecticut to the Pacific Ocean. This meant their land grant overlapped with Pennsylvania's land grant. Soon fighting began. In the end, the Connecticut government was asked to surrender their claim on the area, which they did.

Formation

In 1810, Susquehanna County was formed out of Luzerne County and later in 1812, Montrose was made the county seat.

Coal and early prosperity

After the Civil War, coal started to be mined. Following this, railways and roads were built into the county allowing for more people to come. At one point the county had nearly 50,000 people. Coal became, as with neighboring counties, the back bone of the economy. This boom in coal would allow for an age of prosperity in the county.

Great Depression

When the Great Depression hit, the coal industry suffered horribly. Within months the coal industry was struggling. During World War II the coal industry picked up again, but only for a short time. Soon after the economy in the county failed. Between the 1950s and 1990s many mines were closed, railways were torn apart, and the economy took a turn for the worse. Unemployment rose and population decline increased.

Geography

Milk Can Corners in Hallstead

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 832 square miles (2,150 km2), of which 823 square miles (2,130 km2) is land and 8.7 square miles (23 km2) (1.0%) is water.[5]

Susquehanna County is very mountainous, with large concentrations of mountains in the east and smaller, more hill-like mountains in the west. The highest mountain in the county is North Knob just west of Union Dale. Most people live in one of the several long and mostly narrow valleys. These valleys are good farming land.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18209,960—
183016,78768.5%
184021,19526.3%
185028,68835.4%
186036,26726.4%
187037,5233.5%
188040,3547.5%
189040,093−0.6%
190040,043−0.1%
191037,746−5.7%
192034,763−7.9%
193033,806−2.8%
194033,8930.3%
195031,970−5.7%
196033,1373.7%
197034,3443.6%
198037,87610.3%
199040,3806.6%
200042,2384.6%
201043,3562.6%
2016 (est.)40,862[6]−5.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9]
1990-2000[10] 2010-2013[1]
Susquehanna Depot Main Street

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 42,238 people, 16,529 households, and 11,785 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile (20/km²). There were 21,829 housing units at an average density of 26 per square mile (10/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.54% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 26% were of English, 16.1% were of German, 15.1% Irish, 8.6% Italian and 7.7% Polish ancestry according to the 2012 American Community Survey.

There were 16,529 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couples living together, 8.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.99.

Birth rate

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.50% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 27.10% from 25 to 44, 25.20% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.80 males. Susquehanna County's live birth rate was 612 births in 1990. The County's live birth rate in 2000 was 499 births, while in 2011 it had declined to 374 babies.[12]

Teen Pregnancy rate

Susquehanna County had a 318 babies born to teens (age15-19) in 2011. In 2015, the number of teen births in Susquehanna County was 265.[13]

County poverty demographics

According to research by The Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which is a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the poverty rate for Susquehanna County was 12.8% in 2014.[14] The statewide poverty rate was 13.6% in 2014. The 2012 childhood poverty rate by school district was: Blue Ridge School District - 42.9% living at 185% or below than the Federal Poverty Level; Montrose Area School District - 32%; Elk Lake School District - 45.3%; Forest City Regional School District - 53.7%; Mountain View School District - 48.8% and Susquehanna Community School District - 55.8%.[15]

Politics

Presidential Elections Results[16]
Year Republican Democratic Third Parties
2016 67.7% 12,891 26.9% 5,123 5.4% 1,029
2012 59.6% 10,800 38.3% 6,935 2.1% 381
2008 54.8% 10,633 43.2% 8,381 2.1% 401
2004 60.8% 11,573 38.6% 7,351 0.6% 116
2000 59.2% 10,226 37.5% 6,481 3.3% 564
1996 47.0% 7,354 37.8% 5,912 15.2% 2,370
1992 44.0% 7,356 32.1% 5,368 23.9% 3,985
1988 64.6% 9,077 34.7% 4,871 0.8% 108
1984 70.0% 10,566 29.6% 4,471 0.4% 67
1980 61.2% 8,994 31.7% 4,660 7.1% 1,035
1976 56.7% 8,331 41.4% 6,075 1.9% 276
1972 67.8% 9,476 29.7% 4,154 2.5% 349
1968 62.0% 8,705 31.1% 4,364 6.9% 963
1964 45.6% 6,567 54.4% 7,838 0.1% 12
1960 63.9% 10,201 36.1% 5,760 0.1% 9
1956 71.4% 10,752 28.5% 4,293 0.1% 10
1952 74.0% 10,529 25.7% 3,653 0.4% 52
1948 67.8% 7,945 30.9% 3,621 1.3% 150
1944 67.4% 8,819 32.2% 4,212 0.4% 49
1940 63.7% 9,520 36.0% 5,383 0.3% 39
1936 58.9% 9,745 39.4% 6,520 1.6% 269
1932 56.0% 6,884 42.1% 5,171 2.0% 240
1928 68.1% 9,445 31.4% 4,353 0.5% 63
1924 67.4% 7,266 20.5% 2,208 12.2% 1,310
1920 66.4% 6,572 29.4% 2,905 4.2% 419
1916 53.1% 3,891 42.9% 3,145 4.0% 294
1912 26.9% 1,988 35.0% 2,588 38.2% 2,822[17]
1908 57.3% 4,999 37.0% 3,230 5.7% 496
1904 61.2% 4,988 31.6% 2,573 7.2% 589
1900 55.2% 5,019 38.8% 3,527 5.9% 539
1896 56.7% 5,310 38.7% 3,618 4.6% 432
1892 53.1% 4,531 39.7% 3,383 7.2% 613
1888 55.3% 5,019 36.7% 3,328 8.0% 729

As of November 3, 2015, there are 24,854 registered voters in Susquehanna County.

County Commissioners

  • MaryAnn Warren, Democrat (January 2004 to current)
  • Alan M. Hall, Chair, Republican (January 2012 to current)
  • Elizabeth M. Arnold, Vice-Chair, Republican (January 2016)

[18]

Row Offices

  • Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Chris Jones Republican
  • Coroner, Tony Conarton, Republican
  • District Attorney, Bill Urbanski, Republican[19]
  • Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills, Michelle Estabrook, Republican
  • Sheriff, Lance Benedict, Republican
  • Treasurer, Jason Miller, Republican
  • Auditor, George Starzec, Republican
  • Auditor, Susan Jennings, Democrat

State Representatives[20]

  • Tina Pickett, Republican (110th district) - Apolacon, Auburn, Dimock, Forest Lake, Jessup, Middletown, and Rush Townships, and Little Meadows Borough
  • Jonathan Fritz, Republican (111th district) - Ararat, Bridgewater, Brooklyn, Choconut, Clifford, Franklin, Gibson, Great Bend, Harford, Harmony, Herrick, Jackson, Lathrop, Lenox, Liberty, New Milford, Oakland, Silver Lake, Springville, and Thompson Townships, and Friendsville, Great Bend, Hallstead, Hop Bottom, Lanesboro, Montrose, New Milford, Oakland, Susquehanna Depot, Thompson, and Union Dale Boroughs

State Senators[20]

  • Lisa Baker, Republican (20th district) - Ararat, Auburn, Brooklyn, Clifford, Gibson, Great Bend, Harford, Harmony, Herrick, Jackson, Lathrop, Lenox, New Milford, Oakland, Springville, and Thompson Townships, and Forest City, Great Bend, Hallstead, Hop Bottom, Lanesboro, New Milford, Oakland, Susquehanna Depot, Thompson, and Union Dale Boroughs
  • Gene Yaw, Republican (23rd district) - Apolacon, Bridgewater, Choconut, Dimock, Forest Lake, Franklin, Jessup, Liberty, Middletown, Rush and Silver Lake Townships, and Friendsville, Little Meadows, and Montrose Boroughs

US Representative

United States Senate

Economy

The economy in the county is mainly made up of: retail, health care industry, public school employment, small businesses, and government officials.[21]

Major employers

2015

Listed in order of number of employees. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry 2015 monthly report:[22]

  • Barnes-Kasson County Hospital
  • Montrose Area School District
  • Endless Mountains Health Systems
  • C & G Construction Inc
  • Elk Lake School District
  • Susquehanna County government
  • Mountain View School District
  • Pennsylvania State Government
  • Gassearch Drilling Services Corp
  • Blue Ridge School District
2014[23]
  • Montrose Area School District
  • Barnes-Kasson County Hospital
  • Gassearch Drilling Services Corp
  • Endless Mountains Health Systems
  • Elk Lake School District
  • Blue Ridge School District
  • Susquehanna County government
  • Mountain View School District
  • Elk Mountain Ski Resort INC
  • Forest City Regional School District

Natural gas

Ever since drilling began for natural gas,[when?] the economy has improved. [citation needed] With more jobs the unemployment rate has gone down and the population decline has steadied out. Natural gas has brought a new and reliable industry to the county. With these new workers, small businesses have also prospered.[citation needed] There were 1,079 active natural gas wells in the county in 2011.[24]

Tourism

Susquehanna County's natural beauty, great skiing, and quaint villages make it an ever-growing tourist destination.

Education

Map of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania School Districts

Public libraries

Public school districts

Vocational schools

Intermediate unit

Northeast Intermediate Unit 19 (NEIU 19)

Private schools

  • Faith Mountain Christian Academy (New Milford)

Transportation

Major Highways

Rail

Susquehanna County's last mainstream passenger train services ended in the late 1970s. Since then mainly freight trains have used the lines.

Air

Although Susquehanna County boasts several airstrips, they are strictly recreational. The closest main airports are in Binghamton, New York and Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Recreation

There is one Pennsylvania state park in Susquehanna County:

Susquehanna County is located in the Endless Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Susquehanna County is rural in nature. In 2010, it ranked 54th out of 67 Pennsylvania counties for population density per square mile at 52.7 people per square mile.[25]

Communities

Political map of Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, with townships and boroughs labeled. Townships are colored white and boroughs are colored various shades of orange.
Map of Susquehanna County with municipalities labeled.

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Susquehanna County:

Boroughs

Townships

Population ranking

The population ranking of boroughs in the following table is based on the 2010 census of Susquehanna County.[26]

† county seat

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. ^ "Township Incorporations, 1790 to 1853". Susquehanna County Historical Society. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Pennsylvania: Individual County Chronologies". Pennsylvania Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. 2008. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  5. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  6. ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  7. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  8. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  9. ^ Forstall, Richard L., ed. (March 24, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  10. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. April 2, 2001. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  11. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  12. ^ Pennsylvania Department of Health, Birth Age County Reports 1990 and 2011, 2011
  13. ^ Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, (2016). "Pennsylvania Teen Births 2015,".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  14. ^ US Census Bureau (2015). "Poverty Rates by County Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates".
  15. ^ Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center (2012). "Student Poverty Concentration 2012". {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  16. ^ http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS
  17. ^ The leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 2,498 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 298 votes, Prohibition candidate Eugene Chafin received 25 votes, and Socialist Labor candidate Arthur Reimer received 1 vote.
  18. ^ http://susqco.com/county-government/county-commissioners/
  19. ^ http://wnep.com/2018/01/01/bill-urbanski-sworn-in-as-new-district-attorney-in-susquehanna-county/
  20. ^ a b Center, Legislativate Data Processing. "Find Your Legislator". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved 2017-05-12.
  21. ^ Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (2015). "Susquehanna County Profile".
  22. ^ Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (April 2016). "Susquehanna County Profile" (PDF).
  23. ^ PA Department of Labor and Industries - Center for Workforce Information & Analysis, Susquehanna County Profile 2014, October 2015
  24. ^ NPR State Impact (2015). "Shale Play Susquehanna County Natural Gas Wells Map showing active wells and violations".
  25. ^ U.S. Census Bureau (2010). "Pennsylvania Population per square mile, 2010 by County".
  26. ^ https://www.census.gov/2010census/
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
Rank City/Town/etc. Municipal type Population (2010 Census)

1 Forest City Borough 1,911
2 Susquehanna Depot Borough 1,643
3 † Montrose Borough 1,617
4 Hallstead Borough 1,303
5 New Milford Borough 868
6 Great Bend Borough 734
7 Oakland Borough 616
8 Aravat Township 563
9 Lanesboro Borough 506
10 Hop Bottom Borough 337
11 Thompson Borough 299
12 Little Meadows Borough 273
13 Union Dale Borough 267
Places adjacent to Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania

41°49′N 75°48′W / 41.82°N 75.80°W / 41.82; -75.80

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