Larksville is a

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 ...

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 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 ...

, United States. It is west of Wilkes Barre on 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 ...

(along

U.S. Route 11 U.S. Route 11 or U.S. Highway 11 (US 11) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway extending across the eastern U.S. The southern terminus of the route is at US 90 in Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refu ...

). The population was 4,216 as of the 2020 census.

History

Larksville was formed from a section of Plymouth Township; it was incorporated as a borough on November 10, 1909. Once known as Blindtown, the community's name was changed to Larksville in honor of Peggy Lark, a former resident. The borough gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an active

anthracite Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a lustre (mineralogy)#Submetallic lustre, submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy densit ...

coal mining community, drawing a large portion of its labor force from European immigrants. Larksville was a thriving mining town. Houses were clustered around the

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 ...

. The collieries in the borough were Boston, Loree, Lance, Woodward, and Number 4. At its peak, in 1920, Larksville's population was well over 9,000 people. However, the mining industry in the region collapsed after the 1959 Knox Mine Disaster. The population began to dwindle after its demise. Today, the population is just over 4,000.

Geography

Larksville is located at (41.258525, -75.927176). 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 borough has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.24%, is water. The

makes up Larksville's southeastern border.

travels through the southern portion of the borough. Most of the homes and businesses are located in central and southern Larksville. The northern portion of the borough mostly consists of hills, forests, and a few houses. Larksville is part of the Wyoming Valley West School District.

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 4,694 people, 1,808 households, and 1,323 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 1,939 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 98.93%

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 ...

, 0.28%

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, 0.28% Asian, 0.13% from other races, and 0.34% 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 0.70% of the population. There were 1,808 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% 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, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 22.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.05. In the borough the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $35,467, and the median income for a family was $41,211. Males had a median income of $33,993 versus $21,998 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 $16,196. About 10.2% of families and 13.6% 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 19.1% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is in the Wyoming Valley West School District.
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Notable people

* April Fronzoni, a

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

striker from the United States * Bryan Kocis, founder of

Cobra Video Cobra Video is an American independent gay pornographic studio. The company has been the subject of scandals related to founder Bryan Kocis, who engaged in sex with a minor in one instance, and hired an underage actor to perform in another. Ko ...

* Frank O'Connell, Pennsylvania State Representative and State Senator * John Siegal, an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player * Joe Skladany, an

player * Leo Skladany, an

player

References

External links

* {{authority control Pennsylvania populated places on the Susquehanna River Populated places established in 1909 Boroughs in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania 1909 establishments in Pennsylvania