Kingston 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 7,096 at the 2020 census. The villages of Trucksville and Shavertown are located within the township. It is home to

Frances Slocum State Park Frances Slocum State Park is a List of Pennsylvania state parks, Pennsylvania state park in Kingston Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Kingston Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Fra ...

. The township is described as "the gateway to the Back Mountain" (a 118 square mile region in northern Luzerne County). The area includes the townships of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, Kingston,

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

, and Lehman. The region also includes the boroughs of

and Harveys Lake.

History

Establishment

Kingston Township was one of the original townships formed by the Susquehanna Land Company of

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

in 1790. The township is named after

Kingston, Rhode Island Kingston is a village and a census-designated place within the New England town, town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the mai ...

, and was originally called “Kingstown.” The township was later downsized when whole regions were stripped away to form new municipalities (i.e., townships and boroughs).

Shavertown and Trucksville

Shavertown is named for an early settler — Philip Shaver. In 1813, Philip purchased the land that would later become Shavertown from William Trucks, the namesake of Trucksville. That same year, Philip sold the northwest portion of his land to John McClellon. This land would be known as McClellonsville, a small village which was later named

. By 1818, Philip still owned nearly one thousand acres of land in the Back Mountain region. Philip Shaver was born in 1762 along the Danube River Valley in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. He migrated to the United States between 1765 and 1769 with his parents and brothers. Philip Shaver married Mary Ann Wickizer at St. James Lutheran Church (in Greenwich, Warren County, New Jersey, on December 12, 1786). They had 7 children: John Philip, Peter, William G., Elizabeth, James Henry, George, and Asa W. Shaver. Around 1804, Philip and his family arrived in

Forty Fort Forty Fort was a stronghold built by settlers from Connecticut, on the Susquehanna River in what is now Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Before the American Revolutionary War, both Connecticut and Pennsylvania claimed this territory, as Connecticut h ...

, where they resided until 1810. Philip came to the “ Back of the Mountain” in search of a gigantic species of legendary evergreen trees. He was forced to carve out a path from a rugged foot trail and among heavily forested lands, now PA 309. Philip and his sons constructed a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, 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 ...

in 1815. This first mill was on the north branch of Toby Creek and located near the Prince of Peace Church on Main Street in Dallas. In 1816, he donated a piece of land for the first

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

in the Back Mountain. The school was a one-room log cabin on the site of the current Back Mountain Memorial Library on Huntsville Road. Philip also set aside land for a public burying ground “on the hill near the pine grove just south of Dallas Village (on the road to Huntsville).” Philip also designated a plot of land for his family's graves, visible from Overbrook Road. In 1826, Philip died after an accident. His left hand was crushed in the

cider press A fruit press is a device used to separate fruit solids—stems, skins, seeds, pulp, leaves, and detritus—from fruit juice. History In the United States, Madeline Turner invented the Turner's Fruit-Press, in 1916. Cider press A cider pres ...

that he and his sons were operating in November 1826. Philip was forced to

amputate Amputation is the removal of a limb or other body part by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is c ...

his own hand and died of

blood poisoning Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is compo ...

a few days later on November 7, 1826.

Frances Slocum

is located in Kingston Township. In 1968, the lake, which is the centerpiece of the park, was built to control

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing in the

North Branch Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland). At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of ...

. In 1972, the park became a temporary home to 280 families who were displaced by the Agnes flood. The park was closed to the public; it was not reopened until 1974, when all the families were relocated.

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 1.87%, is water. Kingston Township is densely populated in the southwestern section of the municipality; this is where the villages of Shavertown and Trucksville are located. PA 309 also travels through this portion of the township. Kingston Township is known as "the gateway to the Back Mountain," because two major roadways — PA 309 and West Eighth Street (in the northeastern section of the municipality) — link the Back Mountain (Kingston Township) to the Anthracite Valley (also known as 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 ar ...

is located in the northeastern portion of the township. Carverton Road runs through the center of Kingston Township and links PA 309 to West Eighth Street. Farms and forests are located in the northern and southern sections of the municipality. Kingston Township is part of

Dallas School District The Dallas School District is a school district covering the Borough of Dallas and Dallas Township, Franklin Township and Kingston Township in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. Dallas School District encompasses approximately 46 square miles. ...

(which encompasses approximately 46 square miles).

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 7,145 people, 2,745 households, and 2,083 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 2,923 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 98.95%

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 ...

, 0.24%

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 ...

, 0.06% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.39% 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 people of any race were 0.38% of the population. There were 2,745 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.7% 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, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.1% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.02. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 27.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. The median income for a household in the township was $52,997, and the median income for a family was $62,435. Males had a median income of $40,872 versus $30,075 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 $23,885. About 4.2% of families and 4.8% 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 6.2% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over. The Lake at Frances Slocum State Park.jpg, A frozen

Frances Slocum Frances Slocum (March 4, 1773 – March 9, 1847) (Ma-con-na-quah, "Young Bear" or "Little Bear") was an adopted member of the Miami people. Slocum was born into a Quaker family that migrated from Warwick, Rhode Island, in 1777 to the Wyoming ...

Lake Cross Creek Community Church Kinston TWP LuzCo PA.jpg, Cross Creek Community Church Checkerboard Inn Kingston TWP LuzCo PA.jpg , Checkerboard Inn

References

External links

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