Shamokin

Shamokin, Pennsylvania
—  City  —
Shamokin, Pennsylvania
Shamokin, Pennsylvania
Coordinates: 40°47′21″N 76°33′17″W / 40.78917°N 76.55472°W / 40.78917; -76.55472
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Northumberland
Settled	1835
Incorporated (borough)	1864
Incorporated (city)	1949
Government
- Type	City
- Mayor	George S. Rozinskie, Jr.
- Councilman	R. Craig Rhoades, Director of Parks and Recreation
- Councilman	William D. Milbrand, Director of Public Safety
- Councilman	Michael A. Snyder, Director of Public Works
- Councilman	William R. Strausser, Director of Accounts and Finance
Area
- Total	0.8 sq mi (2.1 km2)
Elevation	800 ft (244 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	8,009
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip code	17872
Area code(s)	570
Website	http://www.shamokincity.org/

Shamokin (pronounced /ʃəˈmokɪn/) (Saponi Algonquian “Shumounk” "place of the horn") is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, at the western edge of the Anthracite Coal Region. (The original Saponi village of Shamokin was located near the current site of Sunbury, the seat of Northumberland County.) At the 2000 census the population was 8,009 residents. The city of Shamokin is bordered by its sister community, Coal Township, Pennsylvania, and by the world's largest man-made mountain, the Glen Burn Colliery Cameron Culm Bank.

History

Shamokin was incorporated as a borough on November 9, 1864, and as a city on February 21, 1949. In addition to anthracite coal-mining, it also had silk and knitting mills (the Eagle Silk Mill became the largest textile building under one roof in America), stocking and shirt factories, wagon shops, ironworks, and brickyards.

Most notably,Thomas Edison, briefly a resident of Sunbury, established the Edison Illuminating Company of Shamokin in the fall of 1882. Operation of the Shamokin station (located at the current Independence Street site of Jones Hardware Company) on September 22, 1883, at which time St. Edward's Catholic Church became the first church in the world to have electric lighting.^[1]

In the 1877 Shamokin Uprising, starvation wages and miserable working conditions prompted railroad workers and miners to join the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Vigilantes gathered by Mayor William Douty shot into a group of strikers, wounding twelve and killing two. Five strikers were jailed for up to eight months for their part in the uprising.

The National Ticket Company, located in Shamokin from 1907 until 1992, was at one time the largest ticket company in the United States. At the dawn of the twentieth century, the "dime" novel was among the most popular forms of entertainment. For the Conway brothers and their neighbors in the coal-mining town of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, the publication of one of these novels launched a global enterprise that has been a fixture in the local economy since 1903. National Ticket Company's first production facility, built in 1911 at the corner of Pearl and Webster Streets. A 1942 fire gutted the plant, although the brick shell still stands. Wartime shortages prevented the company from building a new facility for eight years after the fire. This building at Pearl Street and Ticket Avenue was completed in 1950 and served as company headquarters for forty-two years.

"Murder at Hickory Ridge" was a fictionalized account of an unsolved murder in the Shamokin area, written by William A. Conway and printed by his two brothers, Alphonsus E. and John J., in the garage that served as the Conway Print Shop.

With the profits from the sale of the novel, the Conway brothers started the Black Diamond Publishing Company in 1905 to disseminate news of the anthracite coal region through the printing of Black Diamond Magazine.

Edgewood park also known as Indian Park existed in Shamokin from 1905 through the late 1950s. It consisted of 97 acres (390,000 m²) including a large pond. The land where the park existed is now where the Shamokin area school district built the Elementary and High school.

Notable natives and residents

• Stan Coveleski, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer, born in Shamokin
• Harry Coveleski, Major League Baseball pitcher, Detroit Tigers career ERA recordholder, born in Shamokin
• George H. Cram, Union general in the American Civil War, born in Shamokin
• Bob Hauer, Award Winning Radio News Anchor/On-Air Personality, born in Shamokin
• Kate Heffelfinger, suffragist who was held during the “Night of Terror”, Nov. 15, 1917
• Herbert G. Hopwood, U.S Navy admiral and commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet from 1958 to 1960, born in Shamokin
• Mary LeSawyer, operatic soprano
• Fred Rhoads, cartoonist of Sad Sack
• Joseph Zupicich, crewmember of the RMS Carpathia, assisted in the rescue operation to save the passengers of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912.^[2]
• Bud Weiser, Major League Baseball player, born in Shamokin played for Philadelphia 1915-16
• Jake Daubert , Major League Baseball player, born in Shamokin won two National League batting titles and was MVP in 1913

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), all of it land.

Shamokin has two small creeks that divide the town. Carbon Run merges with Shamokin Creek in the north of the town and ultimately empties into the Susquehanna River just south of Shamokin Dam near Sunbury, PA.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000,^[4] there were 8,009 people, 3,742 households, and 2,028 families residing in the city. The population density was 9,601.9 people per square mile (3,725.7/km²). There were 4,674 housing units at an average density of 5,603.6/sq mi (2,174.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.84% White, 12.12% African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 8.14% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population.

There were 3,742 households out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.8% were non-families. 41.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 86.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $20,173, and the median income for a family was $30,038. Males had a median income of $28,261 versus $19,120 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,354. About 19.3% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.2% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

• Website for the City of Shamokin
• Website for the Shamokin Area School District
• The NewsItem
• Historic Photos of Shamokin
• Bootleg Anthracite Coal; (A Mention of Shamokin)
• Shamokin Centennial Pin Photo
• Historical Photos- Courtesy of the Lower Anthracite Model Railroad Club
• History of the Shamokin Coal Township Public Library
• Edgewood Park

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