Ross 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 2,719 at the 2020 census.

History

One of the first white settlers in modern-day Ross Township was Daniel Devore in 1793. He was followed by a

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. ...

settler named Abram Kitchen in 1795. Timothy, Aaron, and Jacob Meeker settled west of Grassy Pond the following year. Additional settlers followed in their footsteps. The first schoolhouse was built in 1820. Ross Township was formed in January 1842 from Lehman and Union Townships; it was named in honor of General William S. Ross (who was a Luzerne County Judge at the time). In 1843, John A. Hess was elected the township's justice of the peace.

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 1.16%, is water. Bloomingdale and Sweet Valley are two communities in Ross Township. Most of the population resides in the central and southern portions of the municipality. PA 118 runs east to west through the middle of the township.

Farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

and forests make up the southern half of the community, while only thick forests and mountains make up the north. Lakes (e.g., Harris Pond and North Lake) and streams (e.g., Lick Branch and Mitchler Run) are also scattered throughout the township. The eastern section of Ricketts Glen State Park is located in northern Ross Township.

Adjacent communities

* Forkston Township (north) * Lake Township (east) * Lehman Township (southeast) * Hunlock Township (south) * Union Township (south) * Huntington Township (southwest) * Fairmount Township (west)

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 2,742 people, 1,041 households, and 767 families living in the township. The population density was . There were 1,258 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99.23%

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 ...

, 0.04%

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% Asian, 0.04% from other races, and 0.66% 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 0.47% of the population. There were 1,041 households, out of which 33.5% 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, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 22.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.10. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.3 males. The median income for a household in the township was $41,575, and the median income for a family was $48,850. Males had a median income of $35,995 versus $24,420 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 $19,694. The average housing cost is between $25,000 and $650,000. About 8.4% of families and 9.4% 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 11.1% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Gallery

Scenery of Ross Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania from Twin Brooks Road 1.JPG, Ross Township from Twin Brooks Road Scenery of Ross Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania from Twin Brooks Road 2.JPG, Ross Township from Twin Brooks Road Harris Pond in April (3).JPG, Harris Pond in Ross Township Pennsylvania Route 118 in Ross Township, Luzerne County.JPG, PA 118 in Ross Township Main Road in Sweet Valley.JPG, Main Road in Sweet Valley

References

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