Forest City, Pennsylvania
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Forest City is a borough in
Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania Susquehanna County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 38,434 Its county seat is Montrose. The county was created on February 21, 1810, from part ...
, United States, situated at the corner of Susquehanna, Lackawanna and Wayne counties and is designated by a marker which is located in the Forest City Industrial Park. Forest City is four avenues by 10 blocks as the 'main city', with a small surrounding suburb housing 1,748 in the 2020 census, with 87% of the population living 'in town'. At its height in the early twentieth century, between the
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
,
silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
,
lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
and
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
industries, the population was close to 6,000—a booming town with a busy Main Street.


Pre-History

The land that is Forest City and the surrounding area was originally part of the Delaware-Munsee Indian Tribe. By the time it became Forest City, it had been unoccupied, virgin land.


History

The land that would become Forest City had been known as "Forest Mills" since the 1850s. From 1879 to 1886, the post office was called "Pentecost". It was named after one of the first local settlers, William Pentecost, who had started the lumbering and milling industries in the area. The post office was renamed Forest City in 1886, and the Forest City borough was formed in 1888. Between 1866 and 1871, the Jefferson Branch, a railroad spur of the D & H Canal Company, was built in Forest Mills. It ran between Susquehanna Depot and Carbondale, transporting the harvested
lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
.
Lumbering 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 the only industry of this area, with the exception of a small mining operation run by William Pentecost, which supplied only sufficient
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...
to neighboring farmers with winter fuel. In 1871, an outcropping of coal was discovered. The Hillside Coal and Iron Company bought large tracts of land in the area, and by 1872 the first commercially profitable coal mining enterprise was established at North Railroad Street. A small breaker erected on Railroad Street processed the 75-ton daily output from this operation until 1883. In 1886, another shaft, Shaft No. 2, was opened. This brought an influx of miners, mostly Welsh, into the area. There were now 300 men and boys employed in the production of coal.
"The 1922 Breaker #2 collapse"
On April 1, 1916, there was a mine collapse at Shaft #2 that most notably killed 7 Welsh mining-boys between the ages of 6 and 11. This event was the basis for the son
"Crugybar o frynian caersalem"
performed by the Wilkes-Barre Quartet in 1922, which commemorates the event, as the boys were "fresh off the boat" from the Salem's Hills area of Northeast Wales. Coal mining continued until The
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
hit this town hard, as
primary sector of the economy The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...
products as lumber and coal were hardest hit. The population slowly dwindled as the coal mining came to a halt. Today, the Forest City Area Historical Society serves as a reminder of this once flourishing coal town. There are important agricultural interests in the region. At the onset of the twentieth century, coal-mining and silk manufacturing were the chief industries, but with the onset of The Great Depression in the 1920s, businesses decreased to a core of generational store owners. 2017 was a turnaround year for Forest City. In August 2017, a sweeping fire destroyed 25% of the storefronts in town. Then in September, a sudden real estate frenzy bought all lower priced houses in town. Additionally, according to US census records, the highest age percentile decreased below the 35 to 59 age percentile, the first time since 1910. Historically, this signifies the onset of gentrification.


Geography

Forest City is north by east of
Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...
. Forest City is located at (41.650907, -75.468180). 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 borough has a total area of , of which is land and (3.23%) 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 2010, there were 1,911 people, 817 households, and 462 families residing in the borough. The entire village is only .9034 square miles or 2.33 km2. There were 817 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.6% 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, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 39.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91. The median age was 47. For every 100 females, there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.0 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $33,618, and the median income for a family was $41,985. 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 borough was $19,245. About 6.4% of families and 21.3% of the population were living 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 28.4% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.


Churches

Due to the historical influx of immigrants settling in
primary sector of the economy The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining. The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in d ...
towns such as Forest City, as each successive ethnic minority would build their own church. In its height in the 1920s, Forest City was known as "the town with the most churches in it" to the locals. Until recently, Forest City's overwhelmingly Roman Catholic population boasted five churches: St. Anthony, St. Michael, St. Agnes, St. Joseph, and Sacred Heart. Each of these churches were ethnic, St. Agnes being
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, St. Anthony's was
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n; St. Michael's was Slovak; St. Joseph's was
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
n; and Sacred Heart was
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
. Early consolidations were planned in the 1970s, but public resistance kept some of the buildings intermittently open for decades. The Ascension of Our Lord Parish was created and dedicated in 2010, and the worship site, St. Joseph's Church, was renovated to accommodate the merger. Forest City is also home to an Episcopal church, a Byzantine Catholic church, and a non-denominational church. The Methodist Church closed May 2013 and the building was generously donated to the Forest City Area Historical Society which is now society headquarters and museum.


Senior Care

The William Penn apartment complex for seniors is on Main Street and the Forest City Nursing and Rehab Center is on Delaware Street. This represents up to 7% of the population of Forest City.


Economy

Forest City is a small town that has "One of everything": a Pharmacy, convenience store, supermarket, Chinese food, a Dollar General, two banks, a gas station and so on. Many residents also shop in the larger towns closer to Carbondale which is referred to as "Going down the line" (Route 6).


Government and Government Services

Forest City has its own police department which serves some surrounding municipalities on a contractual basis. The police department consists of a Police Chief, Assistant Police Chief and several Patrol Officers. The police department is located on the second floor of Forest City's Boro Hall, which also is the office for town's mayor. Boro Hall also houses the Forest City Library. Up to 5% of the town is wanted by the police. Forest City has two parks: John F. Kennedy Park and Babe Ruth Park. Kennedy Park, located on
Pennsylvania Route 247 Pennsylvania Route 247 (PA 247) is a state highway located in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, Susquehanna, and Wayne County, Pennsylvania, Wayne Counties in Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at ...
, five blocks from Main Street, has a lake, baseball fields, tennis and basketball courts, frisbee golf course, playground, and nature trail. Babe Ruth Park is located on Railroad Street and features a playground, playing field, and a basketball court. Forest City used to hold an annual festival called "
Old Home Week Old Home Week or Old Home Day is a practice that originated in the New England region of the United States similar to a harvest holiday or festival. In its beginning in the 19th–20th century it involved a municipal effort to invite former resid ...
” Economics, and the donations of the few Forest City businesses has made it unsustainable as a week-long event. Forest City is the starting point to the Steamtown Marathon, which is held the Sunday before Columbus Day.


Education

Forest City Regional School District Forest City Regional School District is a Pennsylvania third-class school district in Lackawanna, Susquehanna, and Wayne Counties. The district's population was 5,095 at the time of the 2010 United States Census. Forest City Regional Scho ...
is a Preschool-12th grade public school district serving residents of Forest City. According to the 2010 census, there are at least 17 students per grade living in Forest City.


Notable people

* Samuel Rothafel, founder of
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...
* Patrick H. O'Malley, Jr.,
vaudevillian Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
and
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
actor


References


External links


The Forest City News

Forest City Area Historical Society





Forest City Regional School District

Forest City PA 1937 short film
{{authority control Boroughs in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania 1888 establishments in Pennsylvania Coal towns in Pennsylvania