Hunlock 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 2,215 at the 2020 census.

History

It is believed that the first white settler was named “Boggs,” who constructed a

log cabin A log cabin is a small log house, especially a minimally finished or less architecturally sophisticated structure. Log cabins have an ancient history in Europe, and in America are often associated with first-generation home building by settl ...

in modern-day Hunlock Township. “Boggs” joined the

Patriots A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot(s) or The Patriot(s) may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American R ...

during the Revolutionary War. It's speculated that while he was away from home, his family was either driven away or massacred by the Native Americans living within the region. In 1778, Edward Blanchard and Jonathan Hunlock settled near the mouth of Hunlock Creek. They did not have their families with them; in 1790, they returned to their old homes. Future settlers to modern-day Hunlock Township were

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 ...

, who built

saw mills A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimens ...

in the territory. Additional settlers built gristmills and a

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...

furnace. Hunlock Township, which was named after Jonathan Hunlock, was organized on January 8, 1877; the territory was carved out of Union and

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

Townships. When the township was formed, it had a population of 759.

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 1.17%, is water. 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 ...

forms the southeastern border of the township. Elevations in the township range from above sea level along the Susquehanna River, to over along Shickshinny Mountain, overlooking the river. Thick forests make up most of the township.

Farms A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

are scattered throughout the community. The Village of Hunlock Creek is located near the Susquehanna River. U.S. 11 and Hunlock Creek Turnpike are two major thoroughfares which run through the township. Several major creeks also flow through the municipality (e.g., Hunlock Creek, Roaring Brook, and Lewis Run).

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 2,568 people, 952 households, and 753 families living in the township. The population density was . There were 988 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.83%

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 ...

, 0.12%

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 ...

, 0.04% Native American, 0.43% Asian, and 0.58% 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 0.04% of the population. There were 952 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.0% 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, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.05. In the township the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $38,309, and the median income for a family was $41,071. Males had a median income of $28,641 versus $23,611 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 $15,541. About 6.7% of families and 8.2% 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 9.3% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Hunlock Township is part of

Northwest Area School District The Northwest Area School District (NASD) is a small, rural public school district in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA. The district comprises the boroughs of New Columbus and Shickshinny and the townships of Hunlock, Union, Huntington, a ...

References

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