Scott 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 ...

in Columbia County,

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 ...

. It is part of

Northeastern Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA or Nepa) is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton (the area's largest city), Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Ha ...

. The population was 5,527 at the 2020 census, an increase over the figure of 5,113 tabulated in 2000.

Geography

Scott Township is at the geographic center of Columbia County and is bordered to the west by the town of Bloomsburg (the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

), to the northwest by Mount Pleasant Township, to the north by Orange Township, to the east by North Centre and South Centre townships, and to the south by 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 ...

, across which are Main Township to the south and Catawissa Township to the southwest. Unincorporated communities in Scott Township include Lightstreet in the north, Almedia in the southeast, and Espy in the southwest.

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

crosses the township from east to west, with access from Exit 236 ( Pennsylvania Route 487) between Lightstreet and Bloomsburg.

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 ...

runs through the southern part of the township parallel to the Susquehanna, passing along the northern edges of Espy and Almedia. 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 6.28%, is water.

History

Scott Township was first settled in the 1770s, mostly by people of English descent who came to the township from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. The soil in the township was fertile, but the biggest wealth in the township came from

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

mining. From 1780 to 1850, there were fisheries along the Susquehanna River that brought wealth to the township. The fishing industry ceased ''circa'' 1850 because of overfishing.

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 4,768 people, 2,010 households, and 1,404 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 2,090 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 97.50%

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 ...

, 0.06% Native American, 1.41% Asian, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.17% from other races, and 0.50% 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 0.63% of the population. There were 2,010 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% 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, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.78. In the township the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. The median income for a household in the township was $42,123, and the median income for a family was $52,286. Males had a median income of $37,010 versus $29,063 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 $24,791. About 4.2% of families and 7.8% 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 7.2% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

* Almedia+ * Espy * Lightstreet + This community is partly in an adjacent township.

References

External links

Scott Township official website
{{coord, 41, 02, 00, N, 76, 24, 59, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Populated places established in 1774 Bloomsburg–Berwick metropolitan area Townships in Columbia County, Pennsylvania Townships in Pennsylvania