Buck 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, Ca ...

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 ...

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, ...

, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 378, making it the least populous township in the county.

History

The area was first settled in the 1780s by John Nagle. The first

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

was erected in 1806 by Hugh Conner. Many more sawmills were constructed in the area throughout the 19th century. John Stoddart established the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Stoddartsville in 1815. The following year (in 1816), he constructed the first church in the village. The Stoddartsville Historic District was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1998. Buck Township was formed from Covington Township is 1833. The new township was named after one of its early settlers — George Buck. Beaumont Free Methodist Church Buck TWP LuzCo PA.jpg, Beaumont Free Methodist Church Stodardsville Preservation Society Buck TWP LuzCo PA.jpg, Stoddartsville Preservation Society

Geography

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 the ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (0.29%) is water. The community is sparsely populated; thick forests cover most of Buck Township. PA 115 is the only major highway in the municipality. Buck is drained by 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 ...

, which forms its natural southeastern boundary with Monroe County. It 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 freezing ...

(''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 5a and 5b. Average monthly temperatures in Stoddartsville range from 22.6 °F in January to 68.3 °F in July

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 incl ...

of 2010, there were 435 people, 178 households, and 120 families living in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 25.7 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 259 housing units at an average density of 15.3/sq mi (6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97%

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 on ...

, 1.6%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

, 0.2% American Indian, 0.7%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.5% two or more races. There were 178 households, out of which 20.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% 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 t ...

living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.95. In the township the population was spread out, with 17% under the age of 18, 68.1% from 18 to 64, and 14.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.7 years. The median income for a household in the township was $35,556, and the median income for a family was $37,813. Males had a median income of $32,361 versus $21,875 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 $15,123. About 3.4% of families and 7.1% 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 t ...

, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 14.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{authority control Townships in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania