Catawissa Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

near the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

of Catawissa, Columbia County,

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 ...

. It is part of

Northeastern Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA or Nepa) is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton (the area's largest city), Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Ha ...

. The population was 904 at the 2020 census.

History

Catawissa Township is the oldest municipality in Columbia County. It was first formed in 1785 from parts of Augusta Township. When first formed, Catawissa Township stretched from Montour County in the west to western Schuylkill County in the east. The creations of Roaring Creek Township, Franklin Township, and Main Township in 1832, 1843, and 1844 respectively, reduced the size of Catawissa Township significantly. The first Native Americans to settle in the vicinity of the township were the Piscatawese, Conoys, or Gangawese, who built a

wigwam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...

in Catawissa. The first house in Catawissa Township was built in 1774 by Moses Roberts. By the mid to late 1770s,

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

had arrived in the township. More settlers arrived in Catawissa Township in 1782. The same year, a group of Native Americans arrived in the area to re-establish a wigwam. This led to strife between them and the settlers, and several

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

s occurred. In 1833, there were two

furnaces Furnace may refer to: Appliances Buildings * Furnace (central heating): a furnace, or a heater or boiler, used to generate heat for buildings * Boiler, used to heat water; also called a furnace in American English when used for heating and hot wat ...

and two

forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

s within the boundaries of Catawissa Township as it was at that time. The Hollingshead Covered Bridge No. 40 was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979.

Geography

Catawissa Township is located southwest of the center of Columbia County, across the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

from Bloomsburg, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. The township is bordered to the north and northwest by the Susquehanna, to the west by the borough of Catawissa, to the southwest by Franklin Township, to the south by

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

and

Locust Locusts (derived from the Latin ''locusta'', locust or lobster) are various species of short-horned grasshoppers in the family Acrididae that have a swarming phase. These insects are usually solitary, but under certain circumstances they b ...

townships, and to the east by Main Township. Catawissa Mountain, elevation , occupies the southeastern part of the township. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.01%, is water. Catawissa Creek flows east to west across the center of the township, entering Catawissa borough before emptying into the Susquehanna River.

Geology

Iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

is abundant in Catawissa Township. The soil in the township consists of clay and gravel. The terrain in the township is predominantly hilly.

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 944 people, 378 households, and 297 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 402 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99.47%

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 ...

, 0.42%

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 ...

, and 0.11% from two or more races. There were 378 households, out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.0% 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, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.4% were non-families. 19.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.83. In the township the population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $44,250, and the median income for a family was $49,375. Males had a median income of $32,328 versus $26,579 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 township was $23,635. About 1.1% of families and 2.8% 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 2.0% of those under age 18 and 3.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The school district of the majority of the township is

Southern Columbia Area School District Southern Columbia Area School District is a small, rural, public school district located in Catawissa, Pennsylvania. It serves communities in two counties. In Columbia County the district serves: Catawissa Borough, Catawissa Township, Loc ...

. A small section of it is instead in Bloomsburg Area School District.
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References

{{authority control Populated places established in 1774 Bloomsburg–Berwick metropolitan area Townships in Columbia County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania