Pike County, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pike County, Pennsylvania | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Pennsylvania |
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 Pennsylvania's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | March 26, 1814 |
|---|---|
| Seat | Milford |
| Largest city | Matamoras |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
567 sq mi (1,469 km²) 20 sq mi (52 km²), 3.50% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
46,302 85/sq mi (33/km²) |
| Website: www.pikepa.org | |
Pike County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2000, the population is 46,302. Its county seat is Milford[1]. Pike County is considered the most western edge of the Greater New York area surrounding New York City. Pike County is the fastest-growing county in the state of Pennsylvania[citation needed].
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[edit] History
Pike County, created on March 26, 1814 from part of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, was named for General Zebulon Pike. Milford, Pennsylvania, the county seat, was incorporated in 1874 and named for Milford Haven of Wales.
At the time of European contact, the inhabitants were the Leni Lenape, later known as the Delaware Indians. The first European to visit to the region was Captain Arent Schuyler in 1694, sent by Governor Benjamin Fletcher of the colony of New York to determine whether the French were trying to enlist the Indians against the English. In 1696, governor Fletcher authorized a number of citizens of Ulster County to buy land from the Indians near New York. Descendants of those settlers became the first Europeans to settle in Pike County.
Early settlers included Nicholas Depui in 1725, Thomas Quick, who settled on the site of Milford in 1733, and Andrew Dingman in 1735, at what would become Dingmans Ferry. Settlers had good relations with the Indians at first; but as more settlers moved into the area, land disputes developed. The famous Walking Purchase of 1737 took in more than half of the present day Pike County and led to violence.
In the early 1800s, coal was discovered nearby in the area of present-day Carbondale, but an economical means of transporting the coal to New York was needed. A combination of a gravity railroad from Carbondale to Honesdale, and canal from Honesdale to New York was proposed. In 1823 the state of New York approved the building of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, a 108-mile (174 km) waterway between Honesdale and the Hudson River terminus near present day Kingston, New York. Work on the canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1828. The canal system proved profitable except where the barges crossed the Delaware. John Roebling proposed running the canal right over the river on an innovative suspension bridge/aqueduct, built in 1848; the suspension design called for only three piers (instead of the normal five), which allowed more room for ice floes and timber rafts to pass underneath. Three other suspension aqueducts were built for the canal.
The canal and aqueduct carried coal boats over the Delaware for the next fifty-one years. Then new New York and Erie Railroad proved cheaper and had the advantage of running in the winter when the canal froze over. By 1898 the canal was abandoned. Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct, possibly the oldest suspension bridge in America, is a National Historic Landmark.
In 1926, the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company built a dam on Wallenpaupack creek at Wilsonville for an electric generating plant. Construction of the dam required a crew of 2,700 men and took two years to complete at a cost of $1,026,000. Nearly a hundred landowners were bought out and farms, barns, and homes were razed or moved along with 17 miles (27 km) of roads and telephone lines and a cemetery. This project created the largest artificial lake in Pennsylvania, Lake Wallenpaupack.[citation needed]
Pike County had the fastest population growth of any Pennsylvania county between 1990 and 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, the county grew by 65.2%, and between 2000 and 2004, it grew 16.9%. Local leaders attribute the trend to the relatively low state and county taxes, affordable housing, and the ease of commute to New York City's northern suburbs via Interstate 80 and Interstate 84.
The current Pike County Commissioners, all successfully reelected in 2007, are Chairman Richard Caridi (R), Vice-Chairman Harry Forbes (R), and Commissioner Karl A. Wagner, JR (D).
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 567 square miles (1,468 km²), of which, 547 square miles (1,416 km²) of it is land and 20 square miles (51 km²) of it (3.50%) is water.
The terrain rises rapidly from the river valley in the east to the rolling foothills of the Poconos in the west. The highest point is one of two unnamed hills in Greene Township that top out at approximately 2,110 feet (643 m) above sea level. The lowest elevation is approximately 340 feet (103.6 m), at the confluence of the Bushkill and the Delaware.
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Sullivan County, New York (north)
- Orange County, New York (east)
- Sussex County, New Jersey (southeast)
- Monroe County (southwest)
- Wayne County (northwest)
[edit] National protected areas
- Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (part)
- Middle Delaware National Scenic River (part)
- Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (part)
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 46,302 people, 17,433 households, and 13,022 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile (33/km²). There were 34,681 housing units at an average density of 63 per square mile (24/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.10% White, 3.27% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.62% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.30% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. 5.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 18.9% were of German, 18.6% Irish, 18.5% Italian, 6.2% English and 5.3% Polish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 17,433 households out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.50% were married couples living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.30% were non-families. 20.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.70% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.30 males.
[edit] Politics
As of November 2007, there are 42,493 registered voters in Pike County [1].
- Democratic: 14,692 (34.58%)
- Republican: 19,653 (46.25%)
- Other Parties: 8,148 (19.17%)
[edit] Municipalities
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 Pike County:
[edit] Boroughs
[edit] Townships
[edit] Education
[edit] Public School Districts
- Delaware Valley School District
- East Stroudsburg Area School District (also in Monroe County)
- Wallenpaupack Area School District (also in Wayne County)
[edit] Recreation
There is one Pennsylvania state park in Pike County.
[edit] References
- ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- NPS-- Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct
- Tri State Observer News, Events, Arts & Weather for All of Pike County
- Alliance to Keep Pike County Green
- Pike County Chamber of Commerce
- Official web site of Pike County
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