Carbondale, Pennsylvania

City of Carbondale
City

Nickname(s): The Pioneer City

Location of Carbondale in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.
City of Carbondale
City of Carbondale

Location of Carbondale in Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 41°34′N 75°30′W / 41.567°N 75.500°W / 41.567; -75.500Coordinates: 41°34′N 75°30′W / 41.567°N 75.500°W / 41.567; -75.500
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Lackawanna
Established 1824
Government
 • Mayor Justin M. Taylor
Area[1]
 • Total 3.24 sq mi (8.40 km2)
 • Land 3.24 sq mi (8.40 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation 1,076 ft (328 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 8,891
 • Estimate (2016)[2] 8,498
 • Density 2,620.41/sq mi (1,011.75/km2)
Time zone EST (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP Code 18407
Area code(s) 570 Exchanges: 281, 282
FIPS code 42-11232
Website carbondale-pa.gov

Carbondale is a city in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States.[3] Carbondale is located approximately 15 miles due northeast of the city of Scranton in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 8,891 at the 2010 census.

The land area that became Carbondale was developed by William and Maurice Wurts, the founders of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, during the rise of the anthracite coal mining industry[3] in the early 19th century. Carbondale was the site of the first deep vein anthracite coal mine[4] in the United States. It was also a major terminal of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad.

Like many other cities and towns in the region, Carbondale has struggled with the demise of the once-prominent coal mining industry that had once made the region a haven for immigrants seeking work so many decades ago. Immigrants from Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and from throughout continental Europe came to Carbondale in the course of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries to work in the anthracite and railroading industries.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Carbondale has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), all of it land.

Schools

For the 2011-2012 school year, there are two schools located within the City of Carbondale.

The demographic and economic decline beginning in the 1950s with the end of the coal mining industry has left its mark on education. At one time, the City of Carbondale had one public high school, ten public elementary schools, one private Catholic high school, and two private Catholic elementary schools which served a city of just over 23,000 citizens. Over the decades, changes to education, the dramatic population decline down to 8,800 in the 2010 Census, and the disappearance of religious orders have reduced the number of schools to the two mentioned above. Sacred Heart Elementary, formed as a result of the merger between the parochial Mt. Carmel and St. Rose Elementary Schools for the 1998-1999 school year, closed at the end of the 2010-2011 school year and integrated into LaSalle Academy Catholic School in Dickson City. From a peak enrollment in the 1960s of nearly 650 in a K-12 system served in three schools, the school's enrollment has declined to 186.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18402,398—
18504,945106.2%
18605,0902.9%
18706,39325.6%
18807,71420.7%
189010,83340.4%
190013,53625.0%
191017,04025.9%
192018,6409.4%
193020,0617.6%
194019,371−3.4%
195016,296−15.9%
196013,595−16.6%
197012,478−8.2%
198011,255−9.8%
199010,664−5.3%
20009,804−8.1%
20108,891−9.3%
Est. 20168,498[2]−4.4%
[5][6][7]

As of the census[8] of 2010, there were 8,891 people, 3,734 households, and 2,234 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,778.4 people per square mile (1,072.7/km²). There were 4,144 housing units at an average density of 1,295 per square mile (505.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.2% White, 1% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 3,734 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 57.3% from 18 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,574, and the median income for a family was $35,351. Males had a median income of $30,362 versus $21,922 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,914. About 9.2% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

Today, the Carbondale Historical Society and Museum records and maintains that history. The Carbondale City Hall and Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[9]

The Carbondale mine fire began in Carbondale in 1946.[10]

Notable "firsts"

Notable people

Transportation

Highway

U.S. Business Route 6 runs down Main Street, Carbondale, as the main highway through the city. Recently completed after years of highly visible construction, the four-lane Robert P. Casey Memorial Highway U.S. Route 6 runs from Interstate 81 near Scranton north past Carbondale with interchanges outside, but close to, the city limits.

Rail

As the city responsible for the importation of America's first steam locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion in 1829, Carbondale was once a main terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Railway. It was also served by the Erie Railroad and the New York, Ontario and Western Railway.

Today Carbondale is served by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Rail Authority and its designated-operator Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad on a single remaining D&H mainline track running to Scranton.

The Delaware and Hudson Canal Gravity Railroad Shops have been demolished, but were once listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[9]

Bus

Carbondale is served by the County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS).

Local transportation

Carbondale is served by the #52 and #82 lines, run by COLTS bus.

References

  1. ↑ "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jul 4, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  3. 1 2  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Carbondale". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  4. ↑ Tablet Marking The Site of The First Underground Coal Mine in Carbondale
  5. ↑ "1940 Census - Census of Population and Housing - U.S. Census Bureau". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 2010-03-27. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  6. ↑ "1960 Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  7. ↑ "1990 Census of Population and Housing Unit Counts United States" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  8. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  9. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  10. ↑ Ann G. Kim; Thomas R. Justin; John F. Miller, Mine Fire Diagnostics Applied to the Carbondale, PA Mine Fire Site (PDF), retrieved June 1, 2014
  11. ↑ The Sunday Times, 6 March 2011, "Scranton's Green Party," Page P3, Scranton
  12. ↑ Hollister, Horace (1885). History of the Lackawanna Valley. Lippincott. p. 488.
  13. ↑ National news media
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