Shickshinny, Pennsylvania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shickshinny is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 959 at the 2000 census.

Lore has it that the name Shickshinny is an Indian word that roughly translates as "Land of the Five Mountains." In this case, Shickshinny is situated within five Appalachian mountains.

However, in "Indian Villages and Place Names in Pennsylvania," published in 1995 by Gateway Press Inc., Baltimore, (and originally published in 1928 in Harrisburg, PA) Dr. George P. Donehoo (p. 202) says the name probably meant "fine stream."

According to "The founding of the Shickshinny Borough," an undated Suburban News article posted on the website of the Historical and Preservation Society of the Greater Shickshinny Area, "the first permanent settler in what became Shickshinny was Ralph Austin of Connecticut. This was the period of Connecticut jurisdiction of 1782."


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[edit] Geography

Shickshinny is located at 41°9′15″N, 76°9′4″W (41.154044, -76.151182)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 959 people, 415 households, and 241 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,000.7/km² (2,591.2/mi²). There were 478 housing units at an average density of 498.8/km² (1,291.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.96% White, 0.21% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.10% of the population.

There were 415 households out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 24.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the borough the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $28,594, and the median income for a family was $36,333. Males had a median income of $27,273 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,880. About 8.5% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 14.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Triva

  • Shickshinny was the international headquarters of the Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem or Shickshinny Knights of Malta.[1]

[edit] External links


Municipalities and Communities of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
(County Seat: Wilkes-Barre)
Cities Hazleton | Nanticoke | Pittston | Wilkes-Barre
Boroughs Ashley | Avoca | Bear Creek Village | Conyngham | Courtdale | Dallas | Dupont | Duryea | Edwardsville | Exeter | Forty Fort | Freeland | Harveys Lake | Hughestown | Jeddo | Kingston | Laflin | Larksville | Laurel Run | Luzerne | Nescopeck | New Columbus | Nuangola | Penn Lake Park | Plymouth | Pringle | Shickshinny | Sugar Notch | Swoyersville | Warrior Run | West Hazleton | West Pittston | West Wyoming | White Haven | Wyoming | Yatesville
Townships Bear Creek | Black Creek | Buck | Butler | Conyngham | Dallas | Dennison | Dorrance | Exeter | Fairmount | Fairview | Foster | Franklin | Hanover | Hazle | Hollenback | Hunlock | Huntington | Jackson | Jenkins | Kingston | Lake | Lehman | Nescopeck | Newport | Pittston | Plains | Plymouth | Rice | Ross | Salem | Slocum | Sugarloaf | Union | Wilkes-Barre | Wright
Communities and CDPs Back Mountain | East Berwick | Glen Lyon | Huntington Hills | Mountain Top