Banks Township is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

in Carbon County,

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 Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) is a geographic region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Hazleton, Nanticoke, and Car ...

. The population was 1,262 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Banks Township is located in western Carbon County and is bordered by

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeastern Pennsylvania's second-largest county by total area. As of ...

to the north and Schuylkill County to the west. Its southern border approximately follows the crest of Spring Mountain. The township surrounds the borough of Beaver Meadows but is separate from it. Its villages include Audenried, Coxes, Junedale, and Tresckow. According to the

United States 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 th ...

, the township has a total area of , all of it land. Most of it is drained by Black Creek east into the

Lehigh River The Lehigh River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward pat ...

, except for the Audenried area which is drained west by

Catawissa Creek Catawissa Creek (colloquially known as The Cat) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River in east-central Pennsylvania in th ...

into 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 ...

. Banks has a warm-summer

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 ...

(''Dfb'') and the

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

s are 5b and 6a. Average monthly temperatures in Junedale range from 23.7 °F in January to 69.8 °F in July

Neighboring municipalities

* Lausanne Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Lausanne Township (east) * Weatherly (east) * Packer Township (south) * Kline Township, Schuylkill County (west) * McAdoo, Schuylkill County (west) * Hazle Township, Luzerne County (north) Banks Township surrounds the borough of Beaver Meadows.

Transportation

As of 2020, there were of public roads in Banks Township, of which were maintained by the

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, currently Yassmin Gramian. Presently, Pe ...

(PennDOT) and were maintained by the township. Route 93 passes through the township and Beaver Meadows, leading northwest to Hazleton and southeast to

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 ...

, the Carbon County seat. Route 309 runs through the extreme west of the township via Audenried on its way between Hazleton to the north and Tamaqua to the south.

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 1,359 people, 570 households, and 384 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 620 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.90%

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 ...

, 0.37%

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 ...

, 0.29% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.15%

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 ...

, and 0.22% from two or more races.

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 were 0.81% of the population. There were 570 households, out of which 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% 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, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.1% 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 township the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males. The median income for a household in the township was $32,083, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $31,534 versus $26,157 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the township was $16,186. About 7.6% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over. File:USPO Tresckow PA 18254.jpg, Post Office in Tresckow

References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1842 Townships in Carbon County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania