Shamokin, Pennsylvania facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shamokin, Pennsylvania
|
||
|---|---|---|
|
City
|
||
Keystone Marker
|
||
|
||
Location of Shamokin and adjacent Coal Township in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania (left) and of Northumberland County in Pennsylvania (right)
|
||
 Shamokin, Pennsylvania
Location in Pennsylvania
Shamokin, Pennsylvania
Location in the United States
|
||
| Country | United States | |
| State | Pennsylvania | |
| County | Northumberland | |
| Settled | 1835 | |
| Incorporated (borough) | 1864 | |
| Incorporated (city) | 1949 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | City | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 0.83 sq mi (2.16 km2) | |
| • Land | 0.83 sq mi (2.16 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) | |
| Elevation
(benchmark in center of city)
|
741 ft (226 m) | |
| Highest elevation
(northern boundary on Big Mountain)
|
1,080 ft (330 m) | |
| Lowest elevation
(Shamokin Creek)
|
710 ft (220 m) | |
| Population
(2020)
|
||
| • Total | 6,942 | |
| • Estimate
(2019)
|
6,952 | |
| • Density | 8,335.73/sq mi (3,218.37/km2) | |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern Standard Time (EST)) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) | |
| ZIP Code |
17872
|
|
| Area code(s) | 570 and 272 | |
| FIPS code | 42-69600 | |
| Website | http://www.shamokincity.org/ | |
Shamokin (say "sha-MOH-kin") is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It's located in the central part of Pennsylvania, surrounded by Coal Township. Shamokin is on the western edge of the Anthracite Coal Region, an area famous for its hard coal. The city got its name from an old Saponi Indian village called Schahamokink, which means "place of eels." In 2020, about 6,942 people lived there.
Contents
A Look Back: Shamokin's History
The first people to live in the Shamokin area were likely Shawnee migrants.
Early Settlements: 18th Century
In the early 1700s, many Lenape Indians (also known as Delaware Indians) moved to Shamokin. This happened after an event called the Walking Purchase in 1737. During this time, the Six Nations told the Lenape to move to two places along the Susquehanna River.
Coal, Industry, and Growth: 19th Century
Shamokin was officially started in 1835 by two people interested in coal, John C. Boyd and Ziba Bird. It was known by different names like Boyd's Stone-coal Quarry and Boydtown. The discovery of anthracite coal, a type of hard coal, in the area led to a lot of industry.
Big railroad companies, like the Reading Railroad, bought into the coal business. They became major employers, building railroads to ship coal and controlling many jobs. Workers eventually formed unions to have a stronger voice with these powerful companies.
Shamokin became an official borough in 1864 and later a city in 1949. Besides coal mining, it grew into an industrial hub. It had silk and knitting mills, factories making stockings and shirts, wagon shops, ironworks, and brickyards. The Eagle Silk Mill was once the largest textile factory building in the United States.
Edison's Electric Light
The famous inventor Thomas A. Edison lived nearby for a short time. In 1882, he started the Edison Illuminating Company of Shamokin. On September 22, 1883, the Shamokin power station on Independence Street began operating. Because of this, St. Edward's Roman Catholic Church, which was connected to the power station, became the world's first church lit by electricity!
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
In July 1877, railroad workers and miners were upset about wage cuts. This led to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which started in other states and spread to Pennsylvania. In Shamokin, there were protests. The mayor asked a group of citizens to help keep order. During the unrest, some people were hurt, and two bystanders who were not protesting were killed. Five strikers were found guilty of rioting and sent to jail.
Modern Times: 20th and 21st Centuries
In 1905, a resident named William A. Conway wrote a story called Murder at Hickory Ridge. His brothers, Alphonsus E. and John J., printed the book. They continued their printing business, which became the Conway Print Shop.
With money from the book, the Conways started the Black Diamond Publishing Company in 1905. They also created Black Diamond Magazine to share news about the coal region. They then found a way to print rolls of tickets, hoping to sell them to new movie theaters.
National Ticket Company
To help a local baseball team, the Conway brothers teamed up with Nicholas R. Ludes to buy a lot of colored paper. Together, they founded the National Ticket Company in Shamokin in 1907. For a while, it was the largest ticket manufacturing company in the country! The company is still owned by the families of the Conways and Ludes today.
Edgewood Park: A Place for Fun
From 1905 to the late 1950s, Shamokin had a popular amusement park called Edgewood Park, also known as Indian Park. It had a roller coaster and other rides, attracting many people from the area. The park covered about 97 acres and had a large pond. Later, in the 1950s, the land was used to build new elementary and high schools for the Shamokin area.
The Victoria Theatre was a historic building in town. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 but was taken down in 1999.
Shamokin's Location and Landscape
Shamokin covers about 0.8 square miles of land. Two small creeks flow through the town. Carbon Run joins Shamokin Creek in the north, and Shamokin Creek then flows into the Susquehanna River.
The climate in Shamokin has warm summers. The average monthly temperatures range from about 25.9°F in January to 71.1°F in July.
Shamokin is also home to the world's largest human-made culm bank. A culm bank is a huge pile of waste material left over from coal mining. This one is called the Cameron/Glen Burn Colliery Culm Bank.
Population Changes Over Time
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1850 | 2,191 | — | |
| 1860 | 2,159 | −1.5% | |
| 1870 | 4,320 | 100.1% | |
| 1880 | 8,184 | 89.4% | |
| 1890 | 14,403 | 76.0% | |
| 1900 | 18,202 | 26.4% | |
| 1910 | 19,588 | 7.6% | |
| 1920 | 21,204 | 8.2% | |
| 1930 | 20,274 | −4.4% | |
| 1940 | 18,810 | −7.2% | |
| 1950 | 16,879 | −10.3% | |
| 1960 | 13,674 | −19.0% | |
| 1970 | 11,719 | −14.3% | |
| 1980 | 10,357 | −11.6% | |
| 1990 | 9,184 | −11.3% | |
| 2000 | 8,009 | −12.8% | |
| 2010 | 7,374 | −7.9% | |
| 2020 | 6,942 | −5.9% | |
| Sources: | |||
In 2000, there were 8,009 people living in Shamokin. Most residents were White (98.8%). About 22.2% of the population was under 18 years old. The median age was 41 years.
Schools in Shamokin
Shamokin is part of the Shamokin Area School District. This district includes Shamokin Area High School, along with an elementary, intermediate, and middle school.
There are also private schools like Our Lady of Lourdes Regional School and Meadowview Christian Academy. For older students, Luzerne County Community College (LCCC) has a campus in Shamokin.
Sports
In 2024, Shamokin's local football team, the 'WaiWuhs, had an amazing season. They won every single game, going 16-0, and became champions! They were the first team in history to have a perfect season.
Famous People from Shamokin
Many notable people have come from Shamokin, including:
- Kathryn Burak, a novelist
- Harry Coveleski (1886–1950), a professional baseball player
- Stan Coveleski (1889–1984), another professional baseball player
- Jake Daubert, a professional baseball player
- Thomas A. Edison, the famous inventor, lived nearby and started an electric company here
- Herbert G. Hopwood (1898–1966), a U.S. Navy four star admiral
- Eddie Korbich, an actor in Broadway, film, and television
- Mary LeSawyer, an opera singer
- Fred Rhoads, a cartoonist known for Sad Sack
- Joseph Zupicich (1893–1987), a crewmember on the ship RMS Carpathia, which helped rescue people from the RMS Titanic
See also
In Spanish: Shamokin para niños
