| Shohola Township | |
| Township | |
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A Pennsylvania historical marker in the township
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Pennsylvania |
| County | Pike |
| Elevation | 1,345 ft (410 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 46.7 sq mi (121 km2) |
| - land | 45.3 sq mi (117 km2) |
| - water | 1.4 sq mi (4 km2), 3% |
| Population | 2,475 (2010) |
| Density | 54.6 / sq mi (21.1 / km2) |
| Timezone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP Code | 18458 |
| Area code | 570 |
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Location of Shohola Township in Pennsylvania
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Location of Pennsylvania in the United States
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| Website: http://shoholatwp.org/ | |
Shohola Township is a township in Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,475 at the 2010 census.
Within Shohola Township there are a number of summer camps, including Lake Owego Camp for Boys and Camp Shohola for Boys.
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According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 46.7 square miles (121 km²), of which 45.3 square miles (117 km²) is land and 1.4 square miles (4 km²) (3%) is water.
Shohola is the Lenni Lenape Native American word for "Place of Peace". It has several usages in the area of the Delaware River, as the township, village, as well as a creek, lake, waterfall near by. Within the communities Shohola is used as a toponym for a railroad depot and stone arch viaduct, a sawmill, hotel, elementary school, post office, summer camp, a three span steel arch truss bridge, and the first suspension bridge to cross the Delaware River.
At the 2010 census[1], there are 2,475 people, 1,023 households and 691 families residing in the township. The population density is 54.6 per square mile (21.1/km²). There are 2,350 housing units at an average density of 51.9/sq mi (20.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township is 96% White, 0.9% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. 4.9% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 1,023 households of which 26.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.2% are married couples living together, 6.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% are non-families. 26.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 2.88.
21.7% of the population were under the age of 18, 60.4% from 18 to 64, and 17.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 45.8 years.
The median household income is $41,593, and the median family income is $46,207. Males have a median income of $38,080 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the township is $20,840. 6.2% of the population and 4.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 8.5% of those under the age of 18 and 5.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
The township was formed in December 1851 from parts of Milford, Lackawaxen and Westfall Townships and is located along the Delaware River in Pike County Pennsylvania.
Tom Quick Sr. of Milford, the father of the infamous Tom Quick Jr. who built a cabin on the south side of the Shohola Creek in 1741, was the first European to settle in the area. J. W. Johnston who built a home nearby in 1819 wrote of finding the remains of a very old cabin along the Shohola Creek. The Johnston home and the remains of the Tom Quick cabin were buried in 1847 with the construction of the Erie Railroad.
Before Shohola township was formed, Shohola Creek divided Lackawaxen and Upper Smithfield Townships. On the west side of the Shohola Falls was an inn built in 1754 by an Englishman named Samuel Wares called the Shohola House. Located at the intersection of the Wyoming Road and Milford and Owego turnpike, it was the only hotel and tavern in the area until 1815 when Tobias Hornbeck built a hotel and saw mill on the east side of Shohola Falls. The hotel burned in 1890 and the mill was destroyed by a flood in 1903 despite the construction of an intricate system of dikes to control the water into the mill.
One of the first substantial buildings in Shohola Township was a mill constructed in 1790 on the Shohola Creek where the Twin Lakes Road bridge is located today. The mill, with a wooden dam, was built by Richard VanZant and Tobias Robinson. They also erected a store, operated by David Hickock, located just east of the mill. The Shohola Glen Sawmill remained until 1933 and was used to hoist the coaches up Hemlock Hill on the Switchback Gravity Railroad at the Shohola Glen Amusement Park from 1886 until 1907. There was little additional development in Shohola until the arrival of Erie Railroad construction crews in 1847.
Shohola Township has been the location of twelve railroad accidents. By far the worst was the Great Shohola Train Wreck of the United States Civil War on Friday, July 15, 1864. More than 300 soldiers were killed or injured in the accident.
Another accident occurred on April 17, 1868, at Carr's Rock killing or injuring almost 120 passengers. The Erie Railroad changed the name of the community of Carr's Rock to Parker's Glen after the accident in an attempt erase the tragedy from memory. E. S. Parker was a major stockholder of the blue stone quarrying business in the village. Parker's Glen was completely destroyed by flooding of Hurricane Diane in August 1955. In 1871, an incorrect switch setting caused the "Lightning Express" to leave the tracks just fifty feet before the Great Shohola Viaduct. Major tragedy was averted as the express was only traveling at fifteen miles per hour. In 1874, a boulder struck a freight car and sent five cars down the embankment and into the Delaware River at Pond Eddy. Tragedy was again averted as the freight train was scheduled to run in place of a passenger train that was delayed.
A second accident at King and Fuller's Cut occurred in 1877. On August 13, 1888, at 1:40AM the citizens of Shohola were awakened by screams of agony as the "Chicago Express" plowed into a freight train. Seventeen cars were thrown over the eighty foot embankment into the Delaware River. On July 29, 1899, the "Buffalo Express", traveling at 50 mph, crashed into a slow moving freight train. The sleeping cars caught fire and debris was everywhere.
Other accidents occurred in 1958 and 1964 at Shohola, 1976 at Pond Eddy, 1977 at Handsome Eddy and 1978 at Parker's Glen. The 1978 accident spilled three boxcars loaded with sifted flour. Some of the flour dumped into Twin Lakes Creek and the Delaware River creating a thick paste.
A railroad caboose was placed in Shohola to commemorate the Robert E. Peary expeditions to the North Pole. In 1898, Eben Thomas, President of the Erie Railroad presented Peary with a caboose to be use as living quarters for his expeditions. Erie caboose 4259 was placed on the deck of the steamship Windward which Peary used as his headquarters for many journeys to explore the northland. In July 1902, the caboose was returned to the Erie Railroad and brought to Shohola to attract visitors to the area and the amusement park. It was decorated with scenes of the Arctic region and was popular with visitors.
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