Cummings Township, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cummings Township is a township in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 355 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. Cummings Township is home to two of the 120 Pennsylvania state parks, Little Pine State Park and Upper Pine Bottom State Park.
Contents |
[edit] History
Cummings Township was formed by the Pennsylvania State Legislature in 1832 from parts of Mifflin and Brown Townships. Early industry in the county included quarries of flag and building stone and lumber.
The Little Pine Valley in Cummings Township was used by the Iroquois and Algonkian tribes as a hunting ground. Historians believe that there may have been a Shawnee village and burial ground just to the north of Little Pine State Park.
By the mid 19th century the demand for lumber reached the Little Pine area, where White pine and hemlock covered the surrounding mountainsides. Lumbermen came and harvested the trees and sent them down the creeks to the West Branch Susquehanna River to the log boom and sawmills at Williamsport. James and John English were the first to build a sawmill in the area in the Little Pine Area. They built two sawmills in 1809 on Little Pine Creek. In 1816, the village of English Mills sprang up around the two sawmills. The lumber era at Little Pine lasted until 1909, when the last log raft was floated down Little Pine Creek. Remnants of the lumber era can be seen today in and around the park.
Waterville is the most significant population center in Cummings Township. Michael and Henry Wolf arrived in the area from Berks County in 1817. The helped to establish Waterville by building a sawmill and clearing some land for farming. A post office was established in Waterville in 1849. Other early business establishments were two stores and a hotel, which stands today.
[edit] Geography
As the crow flies, Cummings Township is about 100 mi (160 km) northwest of Philadelphia and about 165 mi (265 km) east-northeast of Pittsburgh.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 179.7 km² (69.4 mi²). 178.5 km² (68.9 mi²) of it is land and 1.2 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (0.69%) is water. It is bordered by Clinton County to the west, McHenry, Pine and Cogan House Townships to the north, Mifflin Township to the east, and Watson Township to the south.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 355 people, 153 households, and 106 families residing in the township. The population density was 2.0/km² (5.2/mi²). There were 400 housing units at an average density of 2.2/km² (5.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 99.72% White and 0.28% African American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.28% of the population.
There were 153 households out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% 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 2.69.
In the township the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 107.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.3 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $38,594, and the median income for a family was $42,292. Males had a median income of $33,125 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the township was $18,626. About 6.2% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] References
- Little Pine State Park History. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Retrieved on February 28, 2007.
- Meginness, John Franklin [1892]. History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania: including its aboriginal history; the colonial and revolutionary periods; early settlement and subsequent growth; organization and civil administration; the legal and medical professions; internal improvement; past and present history of Williamsport; manufacturing and lumber interests; religious, educational, and social development; geology and agriculture; military record; sketches of boroughs, townships, and villages; portraits and biographies of pioneers and representative citizens, etc. etc.", 1st Edition, Chicago, IL: Brown, Runk & Co.. ISBN 0-7884-0428-8. Retrieved on February 28, 2007. “(Note: ISBN refers to Heritage Books July 1996 reprint. URL is to scan of 1892 version with some OCR typos).”
 |
Lycoming County, Pennsylvania County Seat: Williamsport |
|---|---|
| Cities | |
| Boroughs |
Duboistown | Hughesville | Jersey Shore | Montgomery | Montoursville | Muncy | Picture Rocks | Salladasburg | South Williamsport |
| Townships |
Anthony | Armstrong | Bastress | Brady | Brown | Cascade | Clinton | Cogan House | Cummings | Eldred | Fairfield | Franklin | Gamble | Hepburn | Jackson | Jordan | Lewis | Limestone | Loyalsock | Lycoming | McHenry | McIntyre | McNett | Mifflin | Mill Creek | Moreland | Muncy Creek | Muncy | Nippenose | Old Lycoming | Penn | Piatt | Pine | Plunketts Creek | Porter | Shrewsbury | Susquehanna | Upper Fairfield | Washington | Watson | Wolf | Woodward |
| Communities and CDPs |
