Pike County, Pennsylvania

Infobox U.S. County
county = Pike County
state = Pennsylvania




map size = 225
founded = March 26, 1814
seat = Milford | largest city = Matamoras
area_total_sq_mi =567
area_water_sq_mi =20
area percentage = 3.50%
census yr = 2000
pop = 46302
density_km2 =33
web = 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 MilfordGR|6. 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 PennsylvaniaFact|date=July 2007.

History

Pike County was named for General Zebulon Pike. It was created on March 26, 1814 from part of Wayne County, Pennsylvania.

The original inhabitants were the Leni Lenape, later known as the Delaware Indians. In 1694 Governor Benjamin Fletcher of the colony of New York sent Captain Arent Schuyler to investigate claims that the French were recruiting Indian allies for use against the English. In 1696, governor Fletcher authorized purchases of Indian land near the New York border by a number of citizens of Ulster County; their descendants became the first European settlers of Pike County.

Nicholas Depui was the first to settle in the area, in 1725. Thomas Quick moved to the area that would become Milford in 1733. Andrew Dingman, settled on the Deleware River at the future site of Dingmans Ferry in 1735. The early settlers got along well with the Indians; however, as settlement increased, land disputes arose. The infamous Walking Purchase of 1737 swindled the Indians out of more than half of present day Pike County, leading to violence.

Early in the next century, coal was discovered nearby in the area that would become Carbondale. This became especially significant when the British restricted export of British coal after the War of 1812, creating a fuel shortage in rapidly expanding New York City. To get the coal to New York, a gravity railroad from Carbondale to Honesdale was proposed, along with a canal from Honesdale to the Hudson River at Kingston. The canal proposal was approved by the state of New York in 1823. Work on the 108-mile (174 km) Delaware and Hudson Canal began in 1825 and was completed in 1828. The canal system which, terminated at the Hudson River near present day Kingston, New York, proved profitable. However, the barges had to cross the Delaware via a rope ferry across a "slackwater dam" that created bottlenecks in the canal traffic, and added greatly to the cost of transportation. John Roebling proposed continuing the canal over the river on a suspension bridge/aqueduct. Built in 1848, his innovative design required only three piers, where five would ordinarily have been required; this allowed ice floes and timber rafts to pass under with less damage to the bridge. Three other suspension aqueducts would subsequently be built for the canal. Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct is still standing, possibly the oldest suspension bridge in America; it has been named a National Historic Landmark.

For fifty-one years, coal flowed to New York City via the canal. But the development of railroads, which were faster, cheaper, and operated even when the canals were frozen, brought the end of the canal era. The New York and Erie Railroad supplanted the canal, and in 1898 it was abandoned.

In 1926, a hydroelectric plant was built by the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company on Wallenpaupack creek at the former village of Wilsonville, which now lies under Lake Wallenpaupack. A crew of 2,700 men worked for two years to complete the dam for the project at a cost of $1,026,000. This required the acquisition of nearly a hundred properties, and a number of farms, barns, and homes were razed or moved; 17 miles (27 km) of roads and telephone lines were relocated, and a cemetery was moved to make way for the project.

Between 1990 and 2000, Pike County was the fastest-growing county in Pennsylvania, growing by 65.2%; it grew an additional 16.9% between 2000 and 2004. The area has relatively low state and county taxes, affordable housing, and Interstate 80 and Interstate 84 provides rapid transportation to New York City's northern suburbs.

Famous residents

*Gifford Pinchot (1865 – 1946) was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service (1905–1910) and the Governor of Pennsylvania (1923–1927, 1931–1935).

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.

Adjacent counties

*Sullivan County, New York (north)
*Orange County, New York (east)
*Sussex County, New Jersey (southeast)
*Monroe County (southwest)
*Wayne County (northwest)

National protected areas

* Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (part)
* Middle Delaware National Scenic River (part)
* Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River (part)

Demographics

As of the censusGR|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.

Politics

As of November 2007, there are 42,493 registered voters in Pike County [http://www.dos.state.pa.us/elections/lib/elections/055_voter_registration_statistics/2007nov.pdf] .

* Democratic: 14,692 (34.58%)
* Republican: 19,653 (46.25%)
* Other Parties: 8,148 (19.17%)

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).

Municipalities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, , and, in at most two cases, towns. The following boroughs and townships are located in Pike County:

Boroughs

*Matamoras
*Milford

Townships

Education

Public School Districts

*Delaware Valley School District
*East Stroudsburg Area School District (also in Monroe County)
*Wallenpaupack Area School District (also in Wayne County)

Recreation

There is one Pennsylvania state park in Pike County.
*Promised Land State Park

ources

* [http://www.discoverpikepa.com/mre/mre_dtl.aspx?id=1 Discover Pike, PA - History of Pike County]
* [http://www.pare.org/wayne_history.htm History of Wayne County (Pike was originally part of Wayne)]

References

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/upde/roebaque.htm NPS-- Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct]
* [http://www.tristateobserver.com Tri State Observer News, Events, Arts & Weather for All of Pike County]
* [http://www.keeppikegreen.org/ Alliance to Keep Pike County Green]
* [http://www.pikechamber.com/ Pike County Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://www.pikepa.org/ Official web site of Pike County]