Jackson Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jackson Township is a township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania USA. The population was 4,453 at the 2000 census. A small portion of the borough of Dallas as well as an also small fraction of Shavertown, an unincorporated village which is mainly a part of Kingston Township, are located in Jackson Township. Two communities within Jackson Township are Chase, Pennsylvania, and Huntsville, Pennsylvania.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 34.6 km² (13.4 mi²). 34.4 km² (13.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.67%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 4,453 people, 952 households, and 767 families residing in the township. The population density was 129.5/km² (335.4/mi²). There were 1,004 housing units at an average density of 29.2/km² (75.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 73.01% White, 24.66% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.58% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.15% of the population.
There were 952 households out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.3% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.4% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the township the population was spread out with 14.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 40.4% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 242.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 286.2 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $56,464, and the median income for a family was $62,162. Males had a median income of $33,274 versus $29,643 for females. The per capita income for the township was $25,127. About 4.3% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Facts
- In October of 2005, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney visited Jackson Township at the home of Ron and Rhea Simms in Shavertown. The couple hosted Cheney to a private political fundraiser for Republican Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum who is up for reelection in 2006 against former state treasurer Bob Casey, Jr. who was born and raised in Scranton, PA, a city merely 25 miles north of Jackson Township. 200 area residents attended the fundraiser, with the cost reaching $1,000 a person, which gathered a total of $300,000 for the senator.
- Churches, families and several other ordinary people and places within Jackson Township have raised thousands of dollars within the past five years for the development of a playground in a poverty-stricken community in Russia, a recently completed large gym complex at a Christian camp and other unique causes.
- It should be noted that the reason the African American population of Jackson Township is so high relative to other nearby communities is because of the presence of the State Correctional Instituition at Dallas, otherwise known as SCID, or, locally, the Chase Prison. SCID houses approximately 2,200 inmates, which also skews the demographics statistics.
- There are several both large and small family-run businesses within the township. These include American Asphalt Paving Company, the Farmer's Inn Bar & Grill, the Manzoni farms, Black Tie Luxury Limousine service owned by Allen Fox, who happens to also be a township supervisior, and Raymond and Donald Malak, who run competing scrap junkyard establishments, which are frequently in conflict with the laws of the township.
- Beginning in 2003, locations in Jackson Township that use the 18708 ZIP code were permitted to address their location as "Jackson Township, PA", rather than as "Shavertown, PA".
- Jackson Township is served by the Jackson Township Police Department. This department provides 24 hour protection for the township. Chief Jerome Leedock and Sgt. Scott Davis oversee 11 patrol officers.
- The Prochopchak Ordinance prohibits certain unsavory types from entering the township.
