Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

Map
Location in the state of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location in the USA
Statistics
Founded	September 25, 1786
Seat	Wilkes-Barre
Area - Total - Land - Water	2,349 km² (907 mi²) 2,307 km² (891 mi²) 42 km² (16 mi²), 1.80%
Population - (2000) - Density	319,250 138/km²
Website: www.luzernecounty.org

Luzerne County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located in the northern Anthracite area called "The Coal Region". As of the 2000 census, the population was 319,250. Its county seat is Wilkes-Barre⁶.

History

Luzerne County was formed in 1786 from part of Northumberland County. Luzerne is infamous for being the last county whose sheriff legally formed a posse to restore order in a time of civil unrest. In 1897, Sheriff James Martin's posse fired on a group of unarmed miners in what is known as the Lattimer Massacre.

The Luzerne County Historical Society maintains the storehouse for the collective memory of Luzerne County and its environs. It records and interprets the history, traditions, events, people and cultures that have directed and molded life within the region.[1]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,349 km² (907 mi²). 2,307 km² (891 mi²) of it is land and 42 km² (16 mi²) of it (1.80%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Wyoming County (north)
Lackawanna County (northeast)
Monroe County (east)
Carbon County (southeast)
Schuylkill County (south)
Columbia County (west)
Sullivan County (northwest)

Demographics

Luzerne County is the only county in the United States where a plurality of residents state their ancestry as Polish

As of the census² of 2000, there were 319,250 people, 130,687 households, and 84,293 families residing in the county. The population density was 138/km² (358/mi²). There were 144,686 housing units at an average density of 63/km² (162/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.63% White, 1.69% Black or African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.58% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.57% from two or more races. 1.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 22.2% were of Polish, 15.6% Italian, 13.8% Irish, 12.1% German and 5.3% Slovak ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 130,687 households out of which 26.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.80% were married couples living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.50% were non-families. 31.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.00% 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 2.95.

In the county, the population was spread out with 21.00% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 19.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.50 males.

Luzerne Country is the only county in the United States with a plurality of citizens reporting Polish as their primary ancestry; the majority of Pennsylvanians report German or Pennsylvania Dutch.

Politics

As of May 2007, there are 170,886 registered voters in Luzerne County [2].

Democratic: 97,802 (57.23%)
Republican: 59,937 (35.07%)
Other Parties: 13,147 (7.69%)

Luzerne County is represented by three County Commissioners.[3]

Gregory A. Skrepenak, Democrat
Rose Tucker, Democrat (Interim, filling the end of Vonderheid's term)
Stephen A. Urban, Republican

United States House of Representatives

Pennsylvania State Senate

Raphael Musto, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 14th Senatorial District
Lisa Baker, Republican, Pennsylvania's 10th Senatorial District
Robert Mellow, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 24th Senatorial District

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Jim Wansacz, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 114th Representative District
Todd Eachus, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 116th Representative District
Karen Boback, Republican, Pennsylvania's 117st Representative District
Mike Carroll, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 118th Representative District
John Yudichak, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 119th Representative District
Phyllis Mundy, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 120th Representative District
Eddie Day Pashinski, Democrat, Pennsylvania's 121st Representative District

Municipalities

Map of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania with Municipal Labels showing Cities and Boroughs (red), Townships (white), and Census-designated places (blue).

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

Cities

Boroughs

Townships

Census-designated Places

Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law.

Map of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania School Districts

Recreation

There are four Pennsylvania state parks in Luzerne County.

Education

Public School Districts

Berwick Area School District (also in Columbia County)
Crestwood School District
Dallas School District
Greater Nanticoke Area School District
Hanover Area School District
Hazleton Area School District (also in Carbon and Schuylkill Counties)
Lake-Lehman School District (also in Wyoming County)
Northwest Area School District
Pittston Area School District
West Side Area Vocational Technical School WSAVTS
Wilkes-Barre Area School District
Wyoming Area School District (also in Wyoming County)
Wyoming Valley West School District

External links

Municipalities and communities of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
County seat: Wilkes-Barre
Cities	Hazleton \| Nanticoke \| Pittston \| Wilkes-Barre
Boroughs	Ashley \| Avoca \| Bear Creek Village \| Conyngham \| Courtdale \| Dallas \| Dupont \| Duryea \| Edwardsville \| Exeter \| Forty Fort \| Freeland \| Harveys Lake \| Hughestown \| Jeddo \| Kingston \| Laflin \| Larksville \| Laurel Run \| Luzerne \| Nescopeck \| New Columbus \| Nuangola \| Penn Lake Park \| Plymouth \| Pringle \| Shickshinny \| Sugar Notch \| Swoyersville \| Warrior Run \| West Hazleton \| West Pittston \| West Wyoming \| White Haven \| Wyoming \| Yatesville
Townships	Bear Creek \| Black Creek \| Buck \| Butler \| Conyngham \| Dallas \| Dennison \| Dorrance \| Exeter \| Fairmount \| Fairview \| Foster \| Franklin \| Hanover \| Hazle \| Hollenback \| Hunlock \| Huntington \| Jackson \| Jenkins \| Kingston \| Lake \| Lehman \| Nescopeck \| Newport \| Pittston \| Plains \| Plymouth \| Rice \| Ross \| Salem \| Slocum \| Sugarloaf \| Union \| Wilkes-Barre \| Wright
Communities and CDPs	Back Mountain \| East Berwick \| Glen Lyon \| Huntington Hills \| Mountain Top

	Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Harrisburg (capital)
Topics	Cities \| Politics \| History \| Geology \| Pennsylvanians \| State Parks
Metro areas	Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton \| Altoona \| Erie \| Harrisburg–Carlisle–Lebanon \| Johnstown \| Lancaster \| Philadelphia \| Pittsburgh \| Reading \| Scranton-Wilkes‑Barre \| State College \| Williamsport \| York-Hanover
Cities	Allentown \| Altoona \| Bethlehem \| Chester \| Easton \| Erie \| Harrisburg \| Hazleton \| Johnstown \| Lancaster \| Lebanon \| McKeesport \| New Castle \| Philadelphia \| Pittsburgh \| Reading \| Scranton \| Wilkes-Barre \| Williamsport \| York
Regions	Allegheny Mountains \| Allegheny National Forest \| Allegheny Plateau \| Atlantic Coastal Plain \| Blue Ridge \| Coal Region \| Cumberland Valley \| Delaware Valley \| Dutch Country \| Endless Mountains \| Happy Valley \| Laurel Highlands \| Lehigh Valley \| Northeast \| Northern Tier \| Northwest Region \| Pennsylvania Highlands \| Piedmont \| The Poconos \| Ridge and Valley \| South Central Pennsylvania \| Susquehanna Valley \| Western Pennsylvania \| Wyoming Valley
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Coordinates: 41°′N 75°′W / 41.18, -75.99bpy:লুজের্নে কাউন্টি, পেনসিলভানিয়া

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