Ashley is a borough in

Luzerne County Luzerne County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water. It is Northeaste ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, from

Wilkes Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It ...

. The population was 2,588 at the 2020 census.

History

Ashley was first settled in 1830. Forty years later, in 1870, it was incorporated as a borough. It was a productive coal mining town well into the twentieth century, reaching its peak population of 7,039 in 1930. The Huber Breaker, built in 1939 to process coal from several local

collieries Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extrac ...

, ceased operating in 1976, and was demolished in 2014.

Geography

Ashley is located at (41.214182, -75.899387). According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the borough has a total area of , all land. Most of the homes and businesses are located in the northern and western sections of Ashley. Hanover Township encircles the borough. Ashley is served by the Hanover Area School District.

Transportation

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

and

Pennsylvania Route 309 Pennsylvania Route 309 (PA 309) is a state highway that runs for 134 miles (216 km) through eastern Pennsylvania. The route runs from an interchange between Pennsylvania Route 611, PA 611 and Cheltenham Avenue on the border of Philadelphia ...

pass through the eastern and southern portions of the town. NEPTA bus route 13 serves Ashley.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 2,866 people, 1,245 households, and 783 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,386 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.46%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.38%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.03% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.42% of the population. There were 1,245 households, out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 14.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94. In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $30,592, and the median income for a family was $37,266. Males had a median income of $32,083 versus $20,378 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $17,676. About 8.8% of families and 10.6% 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 ...

, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 9.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Hanover Area School District.
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Notable people

* Eusebius J. Beltran,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

* Thomas Chrostwaite, educator *

Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in '' Gilligan's Island'' and Marshal Gib Scott in '' Black Saddle''. Early life Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, ...

, actor, the Professor on ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson, and Dawn Wells. It aired for th ...

,'' and his brother Kenneth Johnson, also an actor * John Morgan,

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

* Martin L. Murray,

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Dave Popson David Gerard Popson (born May 17, 1964) is an American former basketball player who enjoyed a brief National Basketball Association (NBA) career from 1988 until 1992. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Biography Pops ...

, former professional basketball player *

Walter Tewksbury John Walter Beardsley Tewksbury (March 21, 1876 – April 24, 1968) was an American track and field athlete. At the 1900 Summer Olympics, he won five medals, including two golds. Biography Born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, Tewksbury studied for a d ...

track and field athlete Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

References

External links

* {{authority control Populated places established in 1830 Boroughs in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 1830 establishments in Pennsylvania