Pittston 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 ...

. The population was 3,179 as of the 2020 census. The township is located within the Greater Pittston region. As of 2010, the total population of Greater Pittston was 48,020. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is located in Pittston Township.

History

Establishment

Pittston Township was one of the five original townships formed under 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 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 ...

). It was originally known as Pittstown (named for Sir William Pitt, an English statesman). Each township was originally five square miles and divided amongst forty settlers. The township was surveyed in 1768. But, in 1784, flood waters destroyed the surveyor's marks and an act was passed for a new survey to take place. After being resurveyed, the township grew to nearly thirty-six square miles. Zebulon Marcy was the first white settler to build a brush (or log) cabin in the township. Some may refer to him as the first settler. The other leading families in the township (prior to and during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

) were the Blanchards, Browns, Careys, Bennetts, Silsbeys, Marceys, Benedicts, St. Johns, Sawyers, and Coopers. Reverend Benedict was the first

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

in the locality. Captain Jeremiah Blanchard Sr. commanded the Pittston Company. During the Revolutionary War,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and American forces clashed within the Wyoming Valley. On the morning of July 4, 1778—after the surrender of

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 ...

to the British—British Officer

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

sent a detachment across the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

to Pittston and demanded the surrender of Fort Brown, which was commanded by Captain Blanchard. The fort capitulated on fair terms. The first

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 the township was built near the mouth of the Lackawanna in 1780 by Solomon Finn and E. L. Stevens. Dr. Nathaniel Giddings was the first

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

in the township. He came from Connecticut in 1787, and practiced medicine in the community until his death in 1851. He also set up one of the first

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

in the township.

Coal mining

For sixty years, the Yankee element predominated the population of the township. When

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

was discovered, a great migration of various European nationalities began. This influx is responsible for the heterogeneous population found in the township today. The

interests soon became the largest source of wealth in the township (although there was some valuable farmland in the small valleys). Col. James W. Johnson was one of the pioneers in the mining and shipping of coal. He sent considerable quantities down the river in " arks" when this was the only mode of transportation. McCarthyville, popularly known as Cork Lane, was once a mining village in Pittston Township. In 1892, the community consisted of 900 inhabitants and 140 dwellings. Browntown, which neighbors Cork Lane, was another mining community in the township. In 1892, it consisted of nearly 1,000 residents and 200 dwellings. Pittston Township remained an active mining community for many decades. However, on January 22, 1959, the Knox Mine Disaster (in nearby Port Griffith) shattered the industry when the Susquehanna River broke through and flooded most of the interconnected mines in the area.

Airport

As the United States entered the age of mass air transportation,

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

and

Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. ...

(the largest cities in Northeast Pennsylvania) recognized the need for a large-scale airport. Despite the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and hard times affecting the local coal mining industry, a windfall multimillion-dollar opportunity to plan and build a regional airport was presented to the counties of Luzerne and Lackawanna through their

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was ...

. It became apparent that a modern airport would be needed for the economic survival of the region. The site in and around Pittston Township was first surveyed in 1939 by the county commissioners of both counties. In 1941, John B. McDade, president of the Heidelberg Coal Company and father of

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Joseph M. McDade Joseph Michael McDade (September 29, 1931 – September 24, 2017) was an American politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives, having represented Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district. Early life and care ...

, donated 122 acres on which part of the airport now sits. Most of the land was previously owned by various coal companies. By 1945, the two counties entered into a legal agreement to co-sponsor and operate the airport. Between 1945 and 1947, construction of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport took place in and around Pittston Township. Today, the airport is known as the “Gateway to Northeastern Pennsylvania and the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos (), are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the nort ...

.” It is the fifth busiest airport in Pennsylvania. On April 20, 1985, a CT-39 Sabreliner crashed while attempting to land at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport; this resulted in the deaths of all five people on board (including

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Jerome F. O'Malley General (United States), General Jerome Francis O'Malley (February 25, 1932 – April 20, 1985) was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force (VCSAF) from 1982 to 1983; Commander in Chief, Pacifi ...

, the commander of

Tactical Air Command Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a List of Major Commands of the United States Air Force, Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Lang ...

"Kids for cash" scandal

The “kids for cash” scandal unfolded in 2008 over judicial kickbacks at the

Court of Common Pleas in

. Two judges, President Judge

Mark Ciavarella Mark Arthur Ciavarella Jr. (born March 3, 1950) is an American convicted felon and former President Judge of the Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County Pennsylvania courts of common pleas, Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvani ...

and Senior Judge Michael Conahan, were convicted of accepting money from Robert Mericle, builder of two private, for-profit youth centers for the detention of juveniles, in return for contracting with the facilities and imposing harsh

adjudication Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation, including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants, to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between th ...

s on juveniles brought before their courts to increase the number of residents in the centers. One such center was

PA Child Care PA Child Care is a juvenile detention center in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania. It was opened in February 2003. It has a sister company, Western PA Child Care, in Butler County, Pennsylvania. Treatment at both facilities is provided by Mid Atlanti ...

in Pittston Township.

Tornado

EF2 tornado The Enhanced Fujita scale (abbreviated EF-Scale) is a scale that rates tornado intensity based on the severity of the damage a tornado causes. It is used in the United States and France, among other countries. The EF scale is also unofficially ...

struck Suscon (Pittston Township) on Saturday, February 25, 2017. This was the first recorded tornado in February for Luzerne County. The tornado generated top wind speeds of , had a maximum width of , and traveled .

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 0.15%, is water. It is the second largest community by area in Greater Pittston. The township is served by the Pittston Area School District. The eastern part of the township is made up of mountains and forests. Most of the township's residents and businesses are located in the western half of the town. The elevation ranges from above sea level at the summit of Little Shiney Mountain in the southeastern corner of the township to in several valleys along the western border, near 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 ...

. Its villages include Browntown, Cork Lane, Glendale, and Suscon. Its numbered routes are

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 ...

Interstate 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 Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

Interstate 476 Interstate 476 (I-476) is a auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through ea ...

, Route 315, and Route 502. The interstate highways connect with each other via Route 315 at the Wyoming Valley Interchange just east of Browntown. Suscon Road crosses the township from northwest to southeast, connecting the borough of

Dupont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

with Thornhurst on the

Lehigh River The Lehigh River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward ...

. Oak Street and William Street (Route 11) connect the township with the city of

Pittston Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city lies in the Wyoming Valley on the east side of the Susquehanna River and on the south side of the Lackawanna River. It is approximately midway between Wilkes-Barre, Pen ...

. There is also an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

in the community. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is located in northern Pittston Township.

Neighborhoods of Pittston Township

* Browntown: 1,418 residents; 0.5 square miles * Cork Lane * Glendale * Suscon

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 3,450 people, 1,340 households, and 975 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 1,437 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99.16%

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 ...

, 0.29%

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, 0.06% from other races, and 0.41% 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 0.35% of the population. There were 1,340 households, out of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% 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, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.03. In the township the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males. The median income for a household in the township was $41,339, and the median income for a family was $47,933. Males had a median income of $32,013 versus $22,077 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 $18,660. About 7.1% of families and 11.6% 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 16.0% of those under age 18 and 16.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

A second class township government consists of three supervisors, each with equal voting power. The three current supervisors are: * Joseph Hawk * Deborah Taroli * David Slezak

List of Pittston Township Supervisors (2008–present)

Education

Public schools

Pittston Township is located within the Pittston Area School District, which also includes covers the city of Pittston,

Duryea Duryea may refer to: * Duryea (surname) * Duryea Motor Wagon Company, first American automobile company * Duryea, Pennsylvania, a borough in Luzerne County {{Disambiguation ...

, Hughestown, Yatesville, Avoca, and Jenkins Township. The Pittston Area School District consists of four schools: * Pittston Area Primary Center - Hughestown (Grades: K-1) * Pittston Area Intermediate Center - Pittston (Grades: 2-4) * Martin L. Mattei Middle School - Pittston (Grades: 5-8) * Pittston Area Senior High School - Yatesville (Grades: 9-12)

Private schools

There were several Catholic schools in the Greater Pittston area; many have been closed by the Diocese of Scranton due to lack of funding and low enrollment. Holy Rosary is located in

Duryea Duryea may refer to: * Duryea (surname) * Duryea Motor Wagon Company, first American automobile company * Duryea, Pennsylvania, a borough in Luzerne County {{Disambiguation ...

Transportation

Highways

passes through Pittston Township. The highway's major exits include Roanoke and

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the northwesternmost Administrative divisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It is the county seat of Frederick County, Virginia, Frederi ...

Hagerstown, Maryland Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. The population was 43,527 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Hagerstown ranks as Maryland's List of municipalities in Maryland, sixth-most popu ...

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

, and

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

, and Binghamton and

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. After passing through

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...

, Interstate 81 crosses the

St. Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

to meet

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Pittston Township is also located near the Northeast Extension of the

Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road which is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in Pennsylvania. It runs for across the southern part of the st ...

, providing service from Clarks Summit to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania Route 315, and Pennsylvania Route 502 also pass through the township.

Public transportation

Pittston Township is served by the Luzerne County Transportation Authority and COLTS, which provides bus service to the city and other communities within

and Lackawanna County. Martz Trailways also provides commuter, tour, and trip service from

and

to points east and south, such as

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

Air

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport is located in Pittston Township. The airport is served by eight international airlines and has hosted

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control-designated Aviation call signs, call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. The term is commonly used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modifie ...

on regional presidential visits several times in the past. In the spring of 2002, the airport began offering an increased number of non-stop flights across the nation. Service is provided by

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

, and

US Airways US Airways was a major airline in the United States. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon became a commercial passenger airline. In 1953, it ...

Rail

At present, the Reading Blue Mountain and Northern Railroad,

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, successor to the

Delaware and Hudson Railway The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP, which would it ...

, and the Luzerne and Susquehanna Railway, the designated operator of the county-owned shortline, provide freight service within Pittston City and Pittston Township. A proposed nearby commuter train from

has received government funding.

References

External links

*
Pittston Township Volunteer Fire DepartmentPittston Township Volunteer Ambulance Association & Emergency Medical Services
{{authority control Populated places established in 1768 1768 establishments in Pennsylvania Townships in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham