Sunbury, Pennsylvania facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sunbury, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Route 61 and Pennsylvania Route 147 in Sunbury
Location of Sunbury in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.
Sunbury, Pennsylvania Location in Pennsylvania Show map of Pennsylvania Sunbury, Pennsylvania Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Northumberland County
Settled	1772
Incorporated (borough)	1797
Incorporated (city)	1920
Government
• Type	City
Area
• Total	5.46 km2 (2.11 sq mi)
• Land	5.20 km2 (2.01 sq mi)
• Water	0.26 km2 (0.10 sq mi)  1.40%
Elevation	140 m (450 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Total	9,719
• Density	1,870.07/km2 (4,842.55/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	17801
Area code(s)	570 and 272

Sunbury is a city in Pennsylvania, United States. It is the main city of Northumberland County. Sunbury is located on the east side of the Susquehanna River.

The city has a long history, going back to the early 1700s. In 2020, about 9,719 people lived there. Sunbury is an important city in the larger Bloomsburg-Berwick-Sunbury area.

Sunbury is famous for its connection to the inventor Thomas Edison. In 1883, the Hotel Edison was the first building in Sunbury to get electricity using Edison's special three-wire system. The hotel was later named after him!

You can find several interesting places in Sunbury. These include the Beck House and the Northumberland County Courthouse. The whole Sunbury Historic District is even listed as a special historical place.

Sunbury's Early History

Front Street Amphitheater in Sunbury by Susquehanna River

Monument to Thomas Edison near Sunbury

The first people to live in the Sunbury area were likely the Shawnee tribe. Later, many Delaware Indians were also moved here in the early 1700s. This happened after they lost their land in a deal called the Walking Purchase.

From 1727 to 1756, Sunbury was a very important Native American village. It was known as Shamokin back then. This is not the same as the modern city of Shamokin, Pennsylvania.

In 1745, a missionary named David Brainerd visited Shamokin. He said it had about 300 Native Americans, including Delawares, Seneca, and Tutelo people.

In 1754, a lot of land in Pennsylvania was sold by the Six Nations to the state. But Shamokin was kept by the Six Nations. It was meant to be a safe place for other tribes to settle.

The French and Indian War brought fighting to the area. The Delaware people in Shamokin tried to stay neutral at first. But after a terrible event called the Gnadenhütten massacre in 1755, they joined the war against Pennsylvania.

Shamokin village was left empty in May 1756. Then, Fort Augusta was built on the same spot that year. The The Bloody Spring is a historic site from this time.

On March 21, 1772, Northumberland County was officially created. The settlement was named Sunbury that same year. It was named after a town in England called Sunbury-on-Thames.

Lorenzo Da Ponte, who wrote operas for Mozart, lived in Sunbury for some years after he came to America.

In July 1883, Thomas Edison installed the first successful three-wire electric lighting system in the City Hotel. In 1922, the hotel was renamed the Edison Hotel to honor him.

Historical Places to Visit

1851 Northumberland County Court House Sketch - Sunbury, Pennsylvania

Sunbury has many old and interesting places. Here are some of them:

Historical Markers in Sunbury

Walking path in Sunbury

The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission has placed special markers in Sunbury. These markers tell about important events and people from the past.

Sunbury's Location and Weather

Sunbury is located where the west and north branches of the Susquehanna River meet. The city covers about 2.2 square miles. Most of this area is land, with a small part being water.

Sunbury's Climate

Sunbury has a climate with warm summers and cold winters. Here's a quick look at the weather:

Sunbury's Population

Sunbury is the largest city in the Sunbury-Lewisburg-Selinsgrove area. This larger area had a population of 173,726 people in 2000.

In 2010, Sunbury had 9,905 people living there. There were 4,540 households. The city had about 4,716 people per square mile.

The median age in Sunbury in 2000 was 37 years old. About 23.9% of the population was under 18.

Local Businesses in Sunbury

Sunbury is home to several important businesses.

• Weis Markets, a large supermarket chain, has its main office in Sunbury. It's a big employer in the area.
• Great Coasters International designs and builds roller coasters. Their contact address is in Sunbury.
• Sunbury Motor Company is a family business that started in 1915. They sell cars today.
• The Squeeze-In is a famous hot dog shop on Market Street. It's very narrow, only 7.5 feet wide! They've been selling hot dogs since 1945.
• Zimmerman Motors is another family business. It began in 1889 making horse-drawn carriages. Now they sell automobiles.

Education in Sunbury

Map of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

Sunbury has its own public school system called the Shikellamy School District. There is also a campus of Lackawanna College in the city.

Primary and Secondary Schools

Here are the schools in the Shikellamy School District:

Higher Education Options

For students looking for education after high school, Sunbury offers:

Libraries in Sunbury

Sunbury has two main libraries for learning and research.

• The Degenstein Community Library is at 40 South Fifth Street. It has books, DVDs, internet access, and educational programs. This library has won awards for its community work.
• The Northumberland County Historical Society has the Charlotte Darrah Walter Genealogical Library. This library has many records about local history and early families from the area. It also has exhibits about prehistoric times, the Moravian Mission, and Fort Augusta.

Local Media

Sunbury has its own local newspaper, The Daily Item. You can also listen to several local radio stations. These include WKOK 1070 kHz AM for news and sports, and various music stations like WLGL 92.3 FM and WFYY Y106.5 FM.

Notable People from Sunbury

Many interesting people have lived in or come from Sunbury.

18th Century Figures

• Colonel William Clapham (1722–1763) oversaw the building of Fort Augusta.
• Lewis Dewart (1780–1852) was a politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• William Maclay (1737–1804) was a politician and one of Pennsylvania's first senators.
• Timothy Murphy was a famous American Revolutionary War soldier and sniper.
• Shikellamy was an important Oneida chief. He lived in Shamokin (Sunbury) from about 1728 until he died in 1748.

19th Century Figures

• Betty Brice (1888–1935) was a silent film actress.
• Charles M. Clement was a Major General in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
• William Franklin "Birdie" Cree (1882–1942) played baseball in the Major Leagues for the New York Highlanders (now the New York Yankees).
• Herbert Wesley Cummings (1873–1956) was a politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• William Lewis Dewart (1821–1888) was a politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Honorable John Peter Shindel Gobin was a Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania.
• Isaac Clinton Kline (1858–1947) was a politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• John Black Packer (1824–1891) was a politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Lorenzo da Ponte wrote operas for Mozart and lived in Sunbury from 1811 to 1818.
• Simon P. Wolverton was a lawyer and politician who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.

20th Century Figures

• Tim Boetsch is a UFC fighter.
• Euell Gibbons was an outdoorsman and early supporter of healthy eating.
• Steve Kline (left-handed pitcher) is a former professional baseball player.
• Brenda Lewis was a famous opera singer and Broadway star.
• Glen Retief is an award-winning writer.
• Mark Smith is a racing driver.
• Peterson Toscano is a playwright, actor, and human rights activist.

Parks and Recreation in Sunbury

Sunbury is working on a big project called the Sunbury Riverfront Park. This park will be a great place for fun activities.

The city has a large floodwall system built in 1951 to protect it from floods. This wall has saved the city from many major floods. In 1972, during Hurricane Agnes, the water was very high, but the wall held strong.

Across the river in Shamokin Dam, a special fish ladder is being built. This helps fish like shad swim up the Susquehanna River past the dam.

The Adam T. Bower Memorial Dam is an inflatable dam on the Susquehanna River. When it's inflated, it creates Augusta Lake, a 3,000-acre lake perfect for recreation. The new waterfront park will have a marina, walking trails, gardens, and a fishing pier.

Sunbury also has baseball fields, a skating park, tennis courts, playgrounds, and a community pool. There's also a small park downtown next to the county courthouse.

An old building in Shikellamy State Park might become an environmental research and education center. It used to be the Basse Beck Environmental Center.

Sunbury's Economy

Sunbury, like many cities in the "Rust Belt" region, faces some economic challenges. However, efforts are being made to improve the local economy.

Weis Markets, a large supermarket company, has its main office in Sunbury. This makes them a very important employer for the city and the surrounding area.

The Susquehanna Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCO) is working to help new businesses grow. They helped redevelop a former manufacturing plant into new business sites. This project is expected to create 120 new jobs.

See also

In Spanish: Sunbury (Pensilvania) para niños