Northumberland County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,647. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

is Sunbury. The county was formed in 1772 from parts of Lancaster, Berks,

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...

, and

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

Counties and named for the

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

in northern England. Northumberland County is a fifth class county according to the Pennsylvania's County Code. Northumberland County comprises the Sunbury, Pennsylvania Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Bloomsburg- Berwick-Sunbury, PA

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and ...

. Among its notable residents,

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted ...

, the Enlightenment chemist and theologian, left England in 1796 due to religious persecution and settled on the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

. His former house, originally purchased by chemists from

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

after a colloquium that founded the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

, is a historical museum.

History

Before European settlement the area was inhabited by the

Akhrakouaeronon The Akhrakouaeronon or Atrakouaehronon were a subtribe of the Susquehannock. They lived in present-day Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state sp ...

or Atrakouaehronon, a subtribe of the

Susquehannock The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern pa ...

. By 1813 the area once comprising the sprawling county of Northumberland had been divided over time and allotted to other counties such that lands once occupied by Old Northumberland at its greatest extent are now found in

Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region i ...

, Luzerne, Lycoming, Mifflin, Union, Clearfield, Clinton, Montour,

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, Lackawanna, Susquehanna,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...

, Tioga, Potter, McKean, Warren, Venango, Snyder, and Schuylkill Counties.

Geography

Susquehanna River from the Shikellamy State Park overlook

View from the Shikellamy State Park overlook (July 2015)

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.0%) is water. The county has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(''Dfa''/''Dfb''). Average temperatures in Sunbury range from 27.3 °F in January to 72.7 °F in July, while in Mount Carmel they range from 25.0 °F in January to 70.2 °F in July. The main river in Northumberland County is the

and the divergence of the long river into its two branches of navigable river and former divisions of the

Pennsylvania Canal System The Pennsylvania Canal (or sometimes Pennsylvania Canal system) was a complex system of transportation infrastructure improvements including canals, dams, locks, tow paths, aqueducts, and viaducts. The Canal and Works were constructed and assem ...

. The Susquehanna River's tributaries in the county include the West Branch Susquehanna River,

Chillisquaque Creek Chillisquaque Creek is a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River in Montour County and Northumberland County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Derry Township, Washingtonville, and Liberty ...

Shamokin Creek Shamokin Creek (also known as Great Shamokin Creek or Middle Branch Shamokin Creek) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Mount Carmel, Penn ...

, and the west flowing Mahanoy Creek, whose valley is a rail and road transportation corridor to Tamaqua and points thereafter either east, north, or south such that: east along rail or US 209 through Nesquehoning and historic

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

; else northeast via Beaver Meadows leading north into Hazelton and the lower Wyoming Valley, or into the central Wyoming Valley skirting along the western Poconos via White Haven and Mountain Top; or otherwise head south through the

Schuylkill Gap Schuylkill Gap is a water gap through Blue Mountain located about 3 miles north of Hamburg, Pennsylvania. The borough of Port Clinton, Pennsylvania resides within the gap itself. Formed in much the same way as Pennsylvania's other water gaps, S ...

into Port Carbon and thence west to the Lancaster County or east via the greater

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

area into the lower Schuylkill Valley and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. The county has mountains in the south and north, with the rest being mostly rolling hills.

Mountains

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Adjacent counties

* Lycoming County (north) *

Montour County Montour County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,136. Its county seat is Danville. The county is named for Andrew Montour, a prominent M� ...

(northeast) * Columbia County (east) * Schuylkill County (southeast) * Dauphin County (south) *

Perry County Perry County may refer to: United States * Perry County, Alabama * Perry County, Arkansas *Perry County, Illinois * Perry County, Indiana * Perry County, Kentucky * Perry County, Mississippi * Perry County, Missouri *Perry County, Ohio *Perr ...

(southwest) * Juniata County (west) * Snyder County (west) * Union County (west)

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 94,556 people, 38,835 households, and 25,592 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 206 people per square mile (79/km²). There were 43,164 housing units at an average density of 94 per square mile (36/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.09%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 1.52%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.10% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.47% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 1.10% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. 32.5% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, 12.9% Polish, 9.9%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, 8.2% Italian, 8.1% Irish and 5.8% Dutch ancestry. 95.8% spoke

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

and 1.5% Spanish as their first language. There were 38,835 households, out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.40% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.10% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.89. In the county, the population was spread out, with 21.90% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 19.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

2020 Census

Micropolitan Statistical Area

The

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

has designated Northumberland County as the Sunbury, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area (µSA). As of the 2010 census the micropolitan area ranked 2nd most populous in the State of Pennsylvania and the 37th most populous in the United States with a population of 94,528. Northumberland County is also a part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick–Sunbury, PA Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which combines the population of Northumberland County as well as the Columbia, Montour, Snyder and Union County areas. The

ranked 8th in the State of Pennsylvania and 115th most populous in the United States with a population of 264,739.

Politics and government

As of November 7, 2022, there are 58,632 registered voters in Northumberland County. * Republican: 31,682 (54.04%) * Democratic: 18,515 (31.58%) *

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

: 5,547 (9.46%) *

Third Party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a V ...

: 2,888 (4.93%) While county-level politics tend to be competitive, Northumberland is a Republican county in most statewide elections. The margins of victory in the county for the Republican presidential candidate in 2000, 2004, and 2008 have been 13, 21, and 14 percentage points, respectively. Governor

Ed Rendell Edward Gene Rendell (; born January 5, 1944) is an American lawyer, prosecutor, politician, and author. He served as the 45th Governor of Pennsylvania from 2003 to 2011, as chair of the national Democratic Party, and as the 96th Mayor of Philad ...

narrowly carried it against

Lynn Swann Lynn Curtis Swann (born March 7, 1952) is an American former American football, football player, broadcaster, politician, and athletic director, best known for his association with the University of Southern California and the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

while Republican Rick Santorum narrowly carried it against Bob Casey in 2006. The only Democratic statewide candidate to carry the county in 2008 was incumbent Auditor General Jack Wagner. In 2011, the election of Stephen Bridy resulted in a three-way split among the county commissioners.

County commissioners

*Kymberley Best, Democrat *Joseph Klebon, Republican *Samuel Schiccatano, Republican

Other county offices

*Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary, Jamie Saleski, Republican *Controller, Christopher L. Grayson, Democrat *District Attorney, Anthony Matulewicz III, Republican *Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills, Christina Mertz, Republican *Sheriff, Robert J.Wolfe, Republican *Treasurer, Kevin P. Gilroy, Republican *Coroner, James F. Kelley, Democrat

State House of Representatives

* Kurt Masser, Republican, 107th district * Lynda Schlegel-Culver, Republican, 108th district

State Senator

* John Gordner, Republican, 27th district

United States Representative

* Dan Meuser, Republican, 9th district * Fred Keller, Republican, 12th district

United States Senate

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representa ...

, Republican * Bob Casey Jr., Democrat

Education

Public school districts

* Danville Area School District (also in Montour County) * Line Mountain School District * Milton Area School District (also in Union County) *

Mount Carmel Area School District Mount Carmel Area School District is a small, rural, public school district in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. The district is one of the 500 public school districts of Pennsylvania. It serves Mount Carmel, Kulpmont, Marion Heights, a ...

(also in Columbia County) * Shamokin Area School District * Shikellamy School District * Southern Columbia Area School District (also in Columbia County) * Warrior Run School District (also in Montour and Union Counties)

Career Tech school

Northumberland County Career Technology Center located in Coal Township

Intermediate Unit

Central Susquehanna

Intermediate Unit {{short description, School service agencies in Pennsylvania In Pennsylvania, intermediate units are regional educational service agencies, established by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Intermediate units are public entities and serve a given g ...

16 – The primary service area consists of: Columbia, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties in central Pennsylvania. Provides a wide variety of education related services to school districts, private and parochial schools and hame schooled students.

Independent schools

*Bethesda Alternative School, Milton 7–12th grade *Keefertown Parochial School 1–8th grade *Maranatha Mennonite Christian School K-12th grade *Meadowbrook Christian Academy PreK-12th grade *Meadowview Christian Academy PreK-10th grade *Northumberland Christian School PreK-12th grade *Northwestern Academy 5–12th grade *Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School preK–12th grade *Schwaben Creek School 1–8th grade *Spring View Parochial School, Watsontown 1–9th grade *St Louis De Monfort Academy, Herdon 7–12 grade *Sunbury Christian Academy, Northumberland K-12th grade *Sunny Slope Amish Parochial School 1–8th grade *Telos Educational Services Tutoring Center, Montandon *Transfiguration Elementary School, Shamokin PreK-8th grade *Watsontown Christian Academy, Watsontown PreK-12th grade

Communities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities,

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

, townships, and, in one case, a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

. The following cities, boroughs, and townships are located in Northumberland County:

Cities

* Shamokin * Sunbury (county seat)

Boroughs

* Herndon * Kulpmont * Marion Heights * McEwensville * Milton *

Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/ Elijah), is a ...

* Riverside * Snydertown * Turbotville * Watsontown

Townships

Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

* East Cameron * East Chillisquaque * Jackson *

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

* Lewis * Little Mahanoy * Lower Augusta * Lower Mahanoy *

* Point * Ralpho *

Rockefeller Rockefeller is a German surname, originally given to people from the village of Rockenfeld near Neuwied in the Rhineland and commonly referring to subjects associated with the Rockefeller family. It may refer to: People with the name Rockefeller f ...

* Rush * Shamokin * Turbot * Upper Augusta * Upper Mahanoy *

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

* West Cameron * West Chillisquaque * Zerbe

Census-designated places

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

s are geographical areas designated by the

for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.

Unincorporated communities

* Alaska * Asherton * Augustaville *

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geogra ...

* Bear Gap * Bear Valley * Big Mountain * Boyd * Boydtown * Burnside * Cabel * Caketown * Cameron * Chillisquaque * Chulasky * Coal Run * Colonial Park * Connersville *

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, str ...

* Deibler * Delaware Run * Diamondtown * Dooleyville * Dewart * Dornsife * Dunkelbergers * East Lewisburg * Edgewood *

Elysburg Elysburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ralpho Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is seventy miles north of Harrisburg. The population was 2,194 at the 2010 census. The area's biggest attraction is Knoebels ...

* Excelsior * Fairview-Ferndale * Farnsworth * Fisherdale * Fishers Ferry * Five Points * Gowen City * Greenback * Greenbriar * Hamilton * Hebe * Helfenstein * Hickory Corners * Hunter * Kapp * Kapp Heights * Keefers * Keiser * Kipps Run * Kline Grove * Kneass * Knoebels Grove * Kulps * Lantz * Leck Kill * Line Mountain * Lithia Springs * Locust Gap * Locust Summit *

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

* Mandata * Mayfair * Meadowview * Marshallton * Merrian * Mile Run * Millers Crossroads * Mount Carmel Junction * Mount Pleasant * Montandon * Natalie * North Hills * Oak Park * Oaklyn * Otto * Overlook * Patricksburg * Paxinos * Point Breeze * Potts Grove * Purdytown * Quitman * Rebuck * Ranshaw * Red Cross * Reed * Resler * Rushtown * Sagon * Selinsgrove Junction * Seven Points * Shady Acres * Shamrock * Snufftown * South Danville * Springtown * Stonington *

Strong Strong may refer to: Education * The Strong, an educational institution in Rochester, New York, United States * Strong Hall (Lawrence, Kansas), an administrative hall of the University of Kansas * Strong School, New Haven, Connecticut, United S ...

* Sunnyside * Tharptown (Uniontown) * Trevorton * Union Corner * Urban * Warrior Run * West Cameron * Wolfs Crossroads * Wolverton * Yordy

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Northumberland County. † ''county seat''

References

External links

Official county website
{{Coord, 40.85, -76.71, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-PA_source:UScensus1990 1772 establishments in Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania Counties of Appalachia Populated places established in 1772