Carbon County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

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 located in

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 Carbon ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,749. The county is also part of Pennsylvania's

Coal Region The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite, anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons. The region is typically define ...

and

. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Carbon County is

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 ...

, which was founded in 1818 as Mauch Chunk and served as a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

of the

Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company was a mining and transportation company headquartered in Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania, now known as Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. The company operated from 1818 until its dissolution in 1964 and played an early and i ...

. 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 ...

, a tributary of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

, flows through Carbon County.

History

Moravian settlement

In 1745, the first settlement in Carbon County was established by a Moravian mission in Gnadenhutten, which is present day Lehighton. Deeply moved by the deplorable state of the

Leni Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

Indians in America, twelve Moravian missionaries left their home in

Herrnhut Herrnhut ( Sorbian: ''Ochranow''; cs, Ochranov) is an Upper Lusatian town in the Görlitz district in Saxony, Germany, known for the community of the Moravian Church established by Nicolas Ludwig, Count von Zinzendorf in 1722. Geography It is ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and traveled by sea to the wilderness of Pennsylvania, a place known for religious tolerance under the auspices of

Count Zinzendorf Nikolaus Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (26 May 1700 – 9 May 1760) was a German religious and social reformer, bishop of the Moravian Church, founder of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, Christian mission pioneer and a major fig ...

. Located where Lehighton now stands, Gnadenhutten exemplified communal simplicity. Home to hundreds of Lenape and

Mohican The Mohican ( or , alternate spelling: Mahican) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, who ...

Indians displaced by colonial settlements, predation, bigotry and subjugation to the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

, the Delaware peoples were being squeezed out of the southern counties and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

westwards and against the Blue Ridge escarpment. The mission was a scene of quiet, humble and unobtrusive heroism and the Indians' shelter. Although the wilderness of Carbon County was quite treacherous, the Moravians traveled in the wilds of Carbon County undaunted. By 1752, increased hostility put Gnadenhutten at risk for attack, but the missionaries' pious good works did not go unnoticed. The frankness and earnestness of the simple Moravians had won respect with the many tribes of Pennsylvania Indians, and they lived without incident until 1755.Rebecca M. Rabenold-Finsel, Carbon County: Postcard History (South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing 2004), 9. At that point an Amerindian uprising drove settlements away from the

Lehigh Gap The Lehigh Gap or Lehigh Water Gap is a water gap located in the townships of Lehigh, Washington, Lower Towamensing and East Penn in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It was formed by the Lehigh River where it cuts through the ...

, and whites didn't reenter the area before the late 1780. In 1791, a homesteader, Phillip Ginter hunting on Sharp Mountain along

Pisgah Ridge The name Pisgah may refer to: *Mount Pisgah (Bible) Places In the United States Communities *Pisgah, Alabama, a town * Pisgah, Georgia, an unincorporated community *Pisgah, Iowa, a city * Pisgah, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Pisgah, Ken ...

found a black tone coal outcropping, and conveyed a chunk of it to Weissport.

Industrialization

Lehigh Coal Mine Company Lehigh may refer to: Places United States * Lehigh, Iowa *Lehigh, Kansas * Lehigh, Oklahoma * Lehigh, Barbour County, West Virginia *Lehigh, Wisconsin *Lehigh Acres, Florida *Lehigh Township (disambiguation) *Lehigh Valley, a region in eastern Pe ...

(LCMC) operations had managed to open up the mouth area of the

Nesquehoning Creek Nesquehoning Creek is an east flowing tributary of the Lehigh River in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Keystone Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2004. Nesquehoning Creek joins the Lehigh River 2 miles (3.2 ...

by 1800. This area became known as Lausanne, or Lausanne Landing, after the Inn & Tavern built there called Landing Tavern. An Amerindian trail crossed the stream near the confluence with Jean's Run and the camp grounds of their boat builders, climbing northwestwards along a traverse to the next water gap west, eroded into the southern flank of Broad Mountain in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

. It connected across a

barrier ridge The terms barrier ridge, a term of art in the earth sciences, especially geology and sometimes barrier range (more common as a geography term) describing the existence of gross landforms describing long ridgelines which are particularly difficult ...

whose waters originated in the

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

-pass in which

Hazleton, Pennsylvania Hazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 29,963 at the 2020 census. Hazleton is the second largest city in Luzerne County. It was incorporated as a borough on January 5, 1857, and as a city on Decembe ...

was built. The trail would become the

Lehigh & Susquehanna Turnpike Lehigh may refer to: Places United States *Lehigh, Iowa *Lehigh, Kansas * Lehigh, Oklahoma * Lehigh, Barbour County, West Virginia *Lehigh, Wisconsin *Lehigh Acres, Florida *Lehigh Township (disambiguation) *Lehigh Valley, a region in eastern Pen ...

in 1804. Today,

Pennsylvania Route 93 Pennsylvania Route 93 (PA 93) is a state route located in Carbon, Luzerne, and Columbia counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 209 (US 209) in Nesquehoning, about half-way from PA just north of the 1800 ...

follows this route with the exception of where modern road building capabilities allowed improved positioning. This road cut off from a trip from

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 ...

to 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 ...

and the northern sections of the

Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company

In 1827,

, based in present-day

, launched the

Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway The Mauch Chunk and Summit Railroad was a coal-hauling railroad in the mountains of Pennsylvania that operated between 1828 and 1932. It was the first operational railway, in the United States, of any substantial length to carry paying passenger ...

, the nation's second operating railroad. The

Beaver Meadow Railroad and Coal Company The Beaver Meadow Railroad & Coal Company (BMRC) was chartered April 7, 1830, to build a railroad from the mines near Beaver Meadows, Pennsylvania, beyond Broad Mountain along Beaver Creek to Penn Haven and along the Lehigh River through Mauch C ...

, also located in Carbon County, was the first railway to operate

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s as traction engines and

prime mover Prime mover may refer to: Philosophy *Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings Engineering * Prime mover (engine), motor, a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc) into energy o ...

s in the United States. The Mauch Chunck Switchback Railway connected mines west of Beaver Meadows and Weatherly to the

Lehigh Canal The Lehigh Canal, or the Lehigh Navigation Canal, is a navigable canal that begins at the mouth of Nesquehoning Creek on the Lehigh River in eastern Pennsylvania. It was built in two sections over a span of twenty years, beginning in 1818. The low ...

opposite Lehighton.

County's founding

Carbon County was created on March 13, 1843 from parts of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and Monroe counties and was named for the extensive deposits of

anthracite coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the high ...

in the region, where it was first discovered in 1791. Early attempts were made to exploit the deposits by the

(1792), whose expeditions broke trail and pioneered river bank sites using mule powered technology to log, saw, and build

ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

s to carry bags of coal to

with only scant success.

Molly Maguires

In the 19th century, Carbon County was the location of trials and executions of the

Molly Maguires The Molly Maguires were an Irish 19th-century secret society active in Ireland, Liverpool and parts of the Eastern United States, best known for their activism among Irish-American and Irish immigrant coal miners in Pennsylvania. After a serie ...

, an

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 ...

secret society that had been accused of terrorizing the region.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.5%) is water. Blue Mountain forms the southern boundary of Carbon. The northeast area of the county is located in the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos , are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, W ...

and the northwest area includes portions of Broad and Spring mountains. It is drained by the

except for a small area in western Packer Township and the borough of Lansford that are drained by the Still Creek and Panther Creek, respectively, into the

Little Schuylkill River The Little Schuylkill River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Schuylkill River in Northeastern Pennsylvania. It rises south of McAdoo He ...

and the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...

, and the Audenried area in the northwest corner that drains 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 ...

via the

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 ...

. The Lehigh cuts a gorge between Jim Thorpe and White Haven which hosts the

Lehigh Gorge State Park Lehigh Gorge State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Luzerne and Carbon Counties, Pennsylvania. The park encompasses a gorge, which stretches along the Lehigh River from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control dam in Luzerne County to J ...

Climate

Carbon County has a

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 ...

(''Dfa/Dfb'') and is mostly in

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 ...

6a, except for 6b in some southern lowlands and 5b in some northern highlands. Average monthly temperatures at Jake Arner Memorial Airport range from 27.8 °F in January to 72.5 °F in July, while at the Pocono interchange of the Turnpike they range from 22.9 °F in January to 68.3 °F in July

Adjacent counties

* Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County (north) *

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

(east) * Northampton County (southeast) * Lehigh County (south) * Schuylkill County (southwest)

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Buses

Carbon Transit fixed-route bus service consists of Route 701 ( Coaldale-

Palmerton Palmerton is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The borough's population was 5,414 at the 2010 census. Palmerton is located northwest of Allentown and northwest of Philadelphia. ...

) and Route 702 ( Nesquehoning-Palmerton), both connecting to the LANTA Route 325 bus in Palmerton. Carbon Transit also operates CT Flex service in

, Penn Forest Township, and Kidder Township. Also,

Hazleton Public Transit Hazleton Public Transit (HPT) is a provider of public transportation and demand response service for persons with disabilities for the city of Hazleton, Pennsylvania and its surrounding area. Routes All services originate at Church Street Statio ...

(HPT) bus route 30 serves northwestern Carbon County via Beaver Meadows and Junedale to Weatherly. Audenried is served by HPT route 20 (

Hazleton Hazleton may refer to: Places * Hazleton, British Columbia, Canada * Hazleton, Gloucestershire, a village in Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton long barrows, Neolithic burial mounds at Hazleton, Gloucestershire, England ** Hazleton Abbey, a me ...

- McAdoo/

Kelayres Kelayres is a census-designated place in Kline Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States on Broad Mountain, just west of McAdoo. Reservoir Number 8 is just west of Kelayres and drains northward into the Catawissa Creek, a tributary ...

Fullington Trailways The Trailways Transportation System is an American network of approximately 70 independent bus companies that have entered into a brand licensing agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. History The predecessor to Trailwa ...

provides intercity service to Carbon County with stops in Lehighton and

Martz Trailways Martz Group is a bus company headquartered in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, operating intercity commuter buses, charter buses, and tours. The company operates Martz Trailways, which is a part of the Trailways Transportation System. Martz Trailways ...

has a stop in Kidder Township near the Pocono interchange of

Interstate 476 Interstate 476 (I-476) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor throu ...

for service between

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 ...

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 ...

Allentown Allentown may refer to several places in the United States and topics related to them: * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a town in Wilkinson County * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in T ...

, Quakertown, and

. This is an

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transit ...

route, connecting to

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

trains at

30th Street Station 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

in Philadelphia. Martz also operates casino bus routes to

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

from the stop.

Airports

Jake Arner Memorial Airport Jake Arner Memorial Airport is a public non-towered airport that serves Lehighton, Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas. The airport is home to 35 aircraft, based aircraft as of 2015, and has about 13,000 aircraft movements every calendar year. ...

in Lehighton provides general aviation. The nearest commercial passenger service is at

Lehigh Valley International Airport Lehigh Valley International Airport (formerly Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton International Airport) is a domestic airport located in Hanover Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley International Airport is located in the center ...

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is mostly in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania, and spans the border between Luzerne County and Lackawanna County. It is owned and operated by the two counties; it is about 7 miles from Scranton and 8 m ...

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 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. 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 154 people per square mile (60/km²). There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 80 per square mile (31/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.82%

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 ...

, 0.60%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.16% Native American, 0.31%

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 ...

, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.32% 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 0.76% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population were

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. 29.4% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 10.1%

, 9.2%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, 7.9%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, 6.6% Slovak, 6.0%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

and 5.8%

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

ancestry. There were 23,701 households, out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% 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, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.50% 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 2.93. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.20% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.

2020 Census

Law and government

Carbon County has long been considered a bellwether county for Pennsylvania statewide elections. In gubernatorial elections, it was perfect from 1952 to 2014. At the presidential level, Carbon County was also a bellwether for Pennsylvania (although not the nation) until recently, with only 1 miss (in 1960) from 1916 to 2000, and with a margin within 3.5 points of the statewide margin in every election from 1940 to 2000 except 1964 (5.3% more Democratic) and 1976 (6.9% more Democratic). However, since then the county has trended Republican relative to the state as a whole, with McCain outperforming in Carbon by 8.5% relative to the state and Romney outperforming by 12.9%. Republicans hold the commissioner majority while Democrats hold all county row offices. Al Gore carried it in 2000, and in 2004, Republican

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

defeated Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

49.99% to 48.81% or a margin of 296 votes. In 2020,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

won the county with 65.4% of the vote, the largest presidential victory any presidential candidate since

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

's landslide in 1964.

County commissioners

*Wayne Nothstein, Chairman, Republican *Chris Lukasevich, Republican *Rocky Ahner, Democratic

State Senate

John Yudichak John T. Yudichak (born May 1, 1970) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who served as a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for 14th District from 2011 to 2022. The district included parts of Carbon, Luzerne, an ...

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Pennsylvania's 14th Senatorial District Pennsylvania State Senate District 14 includes parts of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton County. It is currently represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat Nick Miller (pol ...

Dave Argall David G. Argall, Ph.D. (born November 21, 1958) is a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, elected in a special election on March 3, 2009 following the death of fellow Republican James J. Rhoades. He was elected a member of the Pennsylvania H ...

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Pennsylvania's 29th Senatorial District Pennsylvania State Senate District 29 includes part of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County and all of Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Carbon County and Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, Schuylkill County. It is currently represented by Repub ...

State House of Representatives

* Doyle Heffley,

, Pennsylvania's 122nd Representative District *

Jerry Knowles Jerome P. Knowles (born July 30, 1948) is a former Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 124th legislative district. He was first elected in a special election in May, 2009 to fill the vacancy left by Dave Arga ...

Pennsylvania's 124th Representative District The 124th Pennsylvania House of Representatives District is located in Berks County and Schuylkill County and includes the following areas: * Berks County ** Albany Township ** Greenwich Township ** Maxatawny Township ** Hamburg ** Kutzto ...

United States House of Representatives

Dan Meuser Daniel Philip Meuser ( ; born February 10, 1964) is an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist who is the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district. A Republican, he previously served as the secretary of rev ...

Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district is located in the east central part of the state and encompasses all of Carbon County, Columbia County, Lebanon County, Montour County, and Schuylkill County, as well as parts of Berks County, Luzerne ...

United States Senate

Pat Toomey Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representat ...

* Bob Casey,

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Education

Lehigh Carbon Community College Main Campus

Community, junior and technical colleges

Lehigh Carbon Community College Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC), often pronounced "L-tri-C," is a public community college in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The school serves as the primary granter of associate degrees ...

– Carbon Campus,

Schnecksville, Pennsylvania Schnecksville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in North Whitehall Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The population of Schnecksville was 2,935 at the 2010 census. Schnecksville is a suburb of Allentown in ...

Public school districts

Hazleton Area School District The Hazleton Area School District is a large, rural public school district in Pennsylvania, stretching across portions of Luzerne, Schuylkill, and Carbon Counties. Its headquarters are in Hazle Township. Students in grade nine through 12 atten ...

(also in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County and Schuylkill County) *

Jim Thorpe Area School District The Jim Thorpe Area School District is located in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the borough of Jim Thorpe and the townships of Penn Forest and South Kidder. It covers a total area of . According to 2000 federal cens ...

Lehighton Area School District The Lehighton Area School District is school district located just north of the Blue Mountain range the Lehigh River in Carbon County, in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The district is composed of four communities which are ...

Palmerton Area School District Palmerton Area School District is a public school district located in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. It serves the boroughs of Palmerton and Bowmanstown, and Lower Towamensing Township and Towamensing Township. The district encompasses appro ...

Panther Valley School District Panther Valley School District is a midsized, suburban public school district which is split across two counties in Pennsylvania. Panther Valley School District encompasses approximately . Panther Valley School District serves students who reside ...

(also in Schuylkill County) *

Weatherly Area School District The Weatherly Area School District is a public school district in Carbon County, Pennsylvania. It is centered on Weatherly and also serves the borough of East Side, plus Lehigh, Packer, Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bre ...

Career technical school

Carbon Career and Technical Institute, public school located in Jim Thorpe

Intermediate Unit

The public and private K-12 schools in Carbon County are served by Carbon-Lehigh

Intermediate Unit {{short description, School service agencies in Pennsylvania In Pennsylvania, intermediate units are regional educational service agencies, established by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Intermediate units are public entities and serve a given g ...

21.

Recreation

Mauch Chunk Lake is a county-run park that offers swimming, camping, hiking and cross country skiing in the winter. There are three Pennsylvania state parks in Carbon County: *

Beltzville State Park Beltzville State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park in Franklin Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Franklin and Towamensing Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Towamensing townships, Carbon County, Pennsyl ...

Hickory Run State Park Hickory Run State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Kidder and Penn Forest Townships in Carbon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is spread across the Pocono Mountains. The park is easily accessible from Interstate 476 and ...

stretches along the

in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County and into Carbon County.

Municipalities

Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

townships 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 ...

, and, in the case of Bloomsburg, a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

. The following boroughs and townships are located in Carbon County:

Boroughs

* Beaver Meadows * Bowmanstown * East Side *

(county seat) * Lansford * Lehighton * Nesquehoning *

* Parryville * Summit Hill * Weatherly * Weissport

Townships

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

* East Penn *

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

* Kidder *

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

* Lehigh * Lower Towamensing * Mahoning * Packer * Penn Forest * Towamensing

Census-designated places

Census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

s are geographical areas designated by the

for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well. * Albrightsville * Holiday Pocono * Indian Mountain Lake * Towamensing Trails *

Tresckow :''See also Treskow (noble family) and Tresckow, Pennsylvania'' Tresckow is a German aristocratic family originating from Mark Brandenburg and belonging to the German nobility dating back to the middle ages (German: ). A prominent branch of the ...

* Weissport East

Former communities

* Big Creek Valley * East Mauch Chunk, now an eastern part of

, Pennsylvania *

East Penn Township, Pennsylvania East Penn Township is a rural township (Pennsylvania), township in the rough uplands terrain of the eastern Mahoning Hills area of Carbon County, Pennsylvania, Carbon County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The township ...

, the far eastern part of today's Jim Thorpe at the other end of

Bear Mountain (Lehigh Valley) Bear Mountain, in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania several miles above the Lehigh Gap, is a steep-sided east bank ridgeline running about between the hairpin turn in the Lehigh the Lenape Amerindian people (Delaware people) visualized as a bea ...

Lausanne Landing Lausanne, alternately named Lausanne Landing of the 1790s–1820s was a small settlement at the mouth of Nesquehoning Creek on the Lehigh River in marshy delta-like flood plain. Some historic references will mention the presence of a 'Landing Ta ...

, the original settlement above the

at the mouth of the

; terminus of the

founded in 1804 *

Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania Jim Thorpe is a borough and the county seat of Carbon County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is historically known as the burial site of Native American sports legend Jim Thorpe. Jim Thorpe is loc ...

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Carbon County. † ''county seat''

References

External links

Official county website
{{authority control 1843 establishments in Pennsylvania Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania Counties of Appalachia Pocono Mountains Populated places established in 1843