Cooke 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 ...

Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to: Australia * Cumberland County, New South Wales * the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia Canada *Cumberland County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Cumberland, historic county *Cumberlan ...

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. The population was 179 at the 2010 census, up from 117 at the 2000 census.

Geography

The township is located in southwestern Cumberland County, bordered to the south by Adams County. The entire township is situated within the South Mountain range of southern Pennsylvania. South Mountain proper forms a ridge the crosses the northern part of the township, while Piney Mountain runs parallel to it along the southern edge of the township. Between the two ridges is the valley of

Mountain Creek Mountain Creek is a ski resort in Vernon Township, Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. It is located on New Jersey Route 94, from the George Washington Bridge. Mountain Creek contains of skiing area, night skiing, snowboarding, a ...

, which flows northeast to Mount Holly Springs and is a tributary of

Yellow Breeches Creek Yellow Breeches Creek, also known as Callapatscink Creek, Callapatschink Creek (Lenape for "where it returns") or Shawnee Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed Augu ...

, which in turn flows to 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 ...

Pine Grove Furnace State Park Pine Grove Furnace State Park is a protected Pennsylvania area that includes Laurel and Fuller Lakes in Cooke Township of Cumberland County. The Park accommodates various outdoor recreation activities, protects the remains of the Pine Grove I ...

is located in the center of the township along Mountain Creek. The

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tr ...

crosses the township, passing through the state park. 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 , or 0.38%, is water.

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 2000, there were 117 people, 50 households, and 42 families residing 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 5.9 people per square mile (2.3/km²). There were 67 housing units at an average density of 3.4/sq mi (1.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.29%

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 ...

, 0.85% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.85% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.85% of the population. There were 50 households, out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 74.0% 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, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.0% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and none 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 2.57. In the township the population was spread out, with 19.7% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 32.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $46,875, and the median income for a family was $48,750. Males had a median income of $35,833 versus $28,750 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 $23,309. None of the population and none of the families 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 ...

History

Jay Cooke Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowle ...

was among the investors who in 1864 purchased the South Mountain Iron Company at Pine Grove Furnace, a charcoal-fired

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...

operation dating to 1764. The specific reason that Cooke Township was created in 1872 out of previously existing Penn Township (established 1860) is unclear. Jay Cooke lost the company in the

Panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the "Lon ...

, but bought back a major portion of it four years later with a group of investors as the South Mountain Mining and Iron Company.

He was still a co-owner at the time of his death. According to the biography by Oberholtzer (who Cooke and his family assisted), Jay Cooke visited Pine Grove Furnace repeatedly. Cooke fished for

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

there—he was an avid outdoorsman throughout his life—and he annually brought gifts such as pocket knives and scissors to the small school established there for the workers' children. Cooke Township continues to this day as a very lightly populated but heavily forested area, while the former center of the iron industry within it is now

. The Pine Grove Furnace 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 1977.

References

External links

Cooke Township official website
{{coord, 40, 03, 00, N, 77, 17, 59, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Townships in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania