Dorrance 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 ...

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 ...

, United States. The population was 2,077 at the 2020 census.

History

Founding

It's believed that the township's first white settlers were hunters and fishermen. They were soon followed by

lumberjacks Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

. The community bears the name of Col. George Dorrance, who was killed in the

Battle of Wyoming The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois warriors. The battle took place in the Wyoming Val ...

on July 3, 1778. Following the battle, settlers began to move into what is now Dorrance Township. The township was officially formed in 1840, when it broke away from Newport Township. By 1860, over five hundred people lived within the township. In 1865, the community had several sawmills,

gristmills A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separate ...

, and at least one

tavern A tavern is a type of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that ...

. Dorrance Village is the only hamlet in the township; it is located near the center of the community. It became a major intersection in the township. A schoolhouse, which also acted as a

meeting house A meeting house (also spelled meetinghouse or meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes private meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a: * chu ...

, was constructed near the crossroads.

Geography

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 0.68%, is water. Dorrance Township is part of the

Mountain Top A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a ...

region of Luzerne County. The township, which consists mostly of farmland and forests, is located within a valley (between

Penobscot Mountain Penobscot Knob, also Penobscot Mountain, is a summit that is located in the western fringe of the Poconos nearest to Mountain Top, Pennsylvania. The Solomon Gap pass below it contains an important multi-modal transportation corridor. History an ...

—to the north—and

Nescopeck Mountain Nescopeck Mountain (also known as Nescopec Mountain) is a ridge in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, Columbia County and Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, in Pennsylvania, in the United States. Its elevation is above sea level. The ridg ...

—to the south). Several lakes and streams (e.g.,

Little Wapwallopen Creek Little Wapwallopen Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Rice Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Rice Township, Dorrance Township, Lu ...

and

Big Wapwallopen Creek Big Wapwallopen Creek (also known as Wapwallopen Creek or Big Wap) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Bear Creek Township, Pennsylvania, B ...

) are scattered throughout the township. Dorrance Village is the only hamlet in the township; it is centrally located.

I-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 I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Isla ...

and

PA 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 ...

run through the eastern section of Dorrance Township.

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 2,109 people, 775 households, and 626 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 816 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99.24%

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 ...

, 0.05%

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 ...

, 0.09% Asian, and 0.62% 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 0.28% of the population. There were 775 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% 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, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.1% were non-families. 17.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.05. In the township the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $44,545, and the median income for a family was $49,583. Males had a median income of $34,194 versus $26,364 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 $19,519. About 2.4% of families and 3.4% 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 4.0% of those under age 18 and 4.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Dorrance Township is part of Crestwood School District.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Townships in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania