Fairview 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 ...
in
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. The population was 4,691 at the
2020 census.
History
Founding
![Fountain Lake Postcard 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Fountain_Lake_Postcard_1.jpg)
In the late 18th century, Conrad Wickeiser was the first settler in modern-day Fairview Township. He was followed by James Wright, who built the first tavern and the first sawmill in 1820. Additional sawmills were constructed throughout the area.
Logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
was one of the chief industries in the area.
In September 1888, the court appointed several commissioners to examine and report whether or not dividing
Wright Township would be feasible. The men reported in favor of division. The court approved the report; a referendum on the question of division was held in 1889. On May 6, the court—in accordance with the affirmative vote—ordered for the division of Wright Township; the new territory was named Fairview Township.
Glen Summit Village
![The Glen Summit Hotel Postcard 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/The_Glen_Summit_Hotel_Postcard_1.jpg)
One of the first settlers of
Glen Summit Springs (in Fairview Township) was John Conety. By the early 20th century, Conety owned approximately that included present-day Indian Springs and Glen Summit Springs. Conety had a log cabin on the property and kept a roadhouse for passing travelers from the
Wyoming Valley
The Wyoming Valley is a historic industrialized region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The region is historically notable for its influence in helping fuel the American Industrial Revolution with its many anthracite coal-mines. As a metropolitan are ...
to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
or
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
[Mountaintop Historical Society (2008). The History of Glen Summit Springs as of the year 2008.]
After his death, the land passed to his son, Richard Conety, Senior. Conety sold the land and a house he had built on the property (in 1880) to H. H. Derr of
Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the secon ...
. Derr purchased the property for fish and game. A few years later, Derr sold the property to the
Lehigh Valley Railroad
The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad built in the Northeastern United States to haul anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Pennsylvania. The railroad was authorized on April 21, 1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, w ...
Company.
In 1882, the Lehigh Valley Railroad (along with J.E. Patterson) organized the Glen Summit Hotel and Land Company. They purchased some adjoining land to their original purchase from Derr. The land was covered in scrub oak at the time, which allowed fantastic views of the valley that stretched before the westward face of
Nescopeck Mountain
Nescopeck Mountain (also known as Nescopec Mountain) is a ridge in Columbia County and Luzerne County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. Its elevation is above sea level. The ridge is a forested ridge, with at least two types of forest and ...
. Over time this view was blocked by tree growth, but the addition of trees helped to increase the beauty of the neighborhood.
Ashley Planes
Ashley Planes
Ashley Planes was a historic freight cable railroad situated along three separately powered inclined plane sections located between Ashley, Pennsylvania at the foot, and via the Solomon cutting the yard in Mountain Top over above and initially bu ...
(located in Fairview Township) was listed on 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 1980.
Geography
![Bow Creek looking downstream](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Bow_Creek_looking_downstream.JPG)
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 0.09% is water. Fairview Township is part of the
Mountain Top region of Luzerne County. Most of the township's homes and businesses are located in the western half of the community.
Glen Summit
Glen Summit Springs is a private community located in Northeastern Pennsylvania, United States, on the northern slope of the eastern end of Nescopeck Mountain, where it sweeps to the north to meet the southward bend of Penobscot Mountain. The a ...
is a village in the township. The eastern part of the community consists mostly of thick forests. The two major roadways in the township are
PA 309 and
PA 437, both run north to south through the community.
Fairview 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 average monthly temperatures in the vicinity of the junction of 309 and 437 ranges from 24.3 °F in January to 70.1 °F in July
PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State U
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 3,995 people, 1,450 households, and 1,161 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 410.2 people per square mile (158.4/km
2). There were 1,502 housing units at an average density of 154.2/sq mi (59.5/km
2). The racial makeup of the township was 96.17%
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 ...
, 0.83%
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 ...
, 0.05%
Native American, 2.10%
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 ...
, 0.20% 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 0.65% 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 ...
or
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 1.05% of the population.
There were 1,450 households, out of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.2% 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, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.9% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the township the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $55,500, and the median income for a family was $62,500. Males had a median income of $47,400 versus $26,614 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 $23,333. About 3.4% of families and 3.1% 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 4.1% of those under age 18 and 1.5% of those age 65 or over.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Townships in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
Townships in Pennsylvania