Shenandoah 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 ...

in Schuylkill County in the

Coal Region The Coal Region is a region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It is known for being home to the largest known deposits of anthracite, anthracite coal in the world with an estimated reserve of seven billion short tons. The region is typically defined ...

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 distinct from Shenandoah Heights, which is part of West Mahanoy Township immediately to the north. As of 2021, the borough's population was 4,247. Shenandoah is located approximately northwest of

Allentown Allentown may refer to: Places * Allentown, California, now called Toadtown, California * Allentown, Georgia, a city in four counties in Georgia * Allentown, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Tazewell County * Allentown, New Jersey, a boroug ...

, northwest of

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 ...

, and miles west of

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 ...

History

The area that ultimately became Shenandoah was first settled by a farmer named Peter Kehley in 1835. Kehley cleared a patch of land at the center of the valley and built a log cabin and maintained his farm for about 20 years in total isolation. He sold his claim to the Philadelphia Land Company, which in anticipation of the opening of coal mines in the area, laid out the town in 1862. Booming growth occurred during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

years caused by the development and opening of several anthracite coal mines. The area was incorporated as a borough in 1866 and was a famous hotbed of activity during the era of the

Molly Maguires The Molly Maguires was an Irish people, Irish 19th-century secret society active in Ireland, Liverpool, and parts of the eastern United States, best known for their activism among Irish-American and Irish diaspora, Irish immigrant coal miners i ...

in the 1870s. After the original influx of English, Welsh, Irish, and German immigrants a large influx of people from central, eastern and southern European countries such as Poland, Lithuania, and Italy occurred in the decades before and after the turn of the 20th century. The

Lehigh Valley Railroad The Lehigh Valley Railroad was a railroad in the Northeastern United States built predominantly to haul anthracite, anthracite coal from the Coal Region in Northeastern Pennsylvania to major consumer markets in Philadelphia, New York City, and ...

Station served as the main passenger terminal in Shenandoah, but because of the coal industry, it was not the only railroad to service Shenandoah. The town was also served by the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

and

Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976. Commonly called the Reading Railr ...

, making Shenandoah the only borough in Pennsylvania to be served by three railroad companies. In Schuylkill County Court, in January 1902, those interested filed their petition for retail, wholesale, bottling or brewing licenses at the Office of the Clerk of the Court. Shenandoah was represented with bars and breweries. This coal town offered more bars per thousand people than any other location in the world. During the Great

Coal Strike of 1902 The Coal strike of 1902 (also known as the anthracite coal strike) was a strike by the United Mine Workers of America in the anthracite coalfields of eastern Pennsylvania. Miners struck for higher wages, shorter workdays, and the Recognition stri ...

the Pennsylvania National Guard was called into Shenandoah to keep the peace and curb rioting by angry miners. The strike would only be resolved after President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

intervened. By 1920, the town had a population of nearly 30,000 residents. The community was hard hit by the decline of the anthracite coal industry after World War II and heavy emigration by coal miners occurred in order to find work elsewhere. Shenandoah, the rise and fall of the coal industry, and the dismantling of the

was one of the subjects examined by George Leighton in his 1939 book ''Five Cities: The Story of Their Youth and Old Age''. Shenandoah Valley was featured in the documentary 2012 film "Shenandoah, Pennsylvania" exploring the hate crime murder of Luis Ramirez and the local police attempting to cover it up.

Etymology

The origin of the name Shenandoah is much debated. One theory holds that Shenandoah received its name from an Indian word meaning 'sprucy stream' or 'river flowing alongside high hills and mountains'. Another origin theory is that the town was named after the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

in Virginia. The Virginia valley in turn took its name from an

Iroquoian The Iroquoian languages () are a language family of indigenous peoples of North America. They are known for their general lack of labial consonants. The Iroquoian languages are polysynthetic and head-marking. As of 2020, almost all surviving I ...

word meaning 'deer'.

Geography

Shenandoah is located at (40.819753, -76.202883). 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 (3.80%) is water. It has a warm-summer

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'') and average monthly temperatures range from 25.0 °F in January to 69.5 °F in July
PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University
The

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 6a.

Demographics

At 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 5,624 people, 2,649 households, and 1,380 families residing in the borough. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 3,339 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 97.40%

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 ...

, 0.34%

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 ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 1.01% from other races, and 0.60% 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 2.76% of the population. At the census of 2010, there were 5,071 people, 2,213 households, and 1,213 families residing in the borough. There were 3,112 housing units, with 28.9% vacant. The racial makeup of the borough was 86.3% White, 1.7% Black, 0.4% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 8.7% some other race, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.7% of the population. As of the census of 2020, there were 4,243 people, living in 1,627 households. The racial makeup of the borough was 62.79% Non-Hispanic White alone, 2.97% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0%

, 16.83% who identified as "some other race", and 10.35% who identified as two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 32.22% of the population. In the borough, 30.43% of the population was younger than 20 years old, 24.58% were 20 years of age through 39 years of age, 28.07% were 40 years of age through 64 years of age, and 17.98% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.9 years. 33.3% of residents spoke a language other than English at home, with 30.2 % speaking Spanish at home, 1.9% speaking another Indo-European language, and 1.2% speaking other languages. The median income for a household in the borough was $40,435, and the median income for families was $42,245. Married-couple families had a median income of $59,079, while nonfamily households had a median income of $27,750. The poverty rate for borough residents was approximately three times that of Pennsylvania residents generally, with 30.6% of the population falling 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 51.0% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

* Joseph Awad – poet, painter and public relations executive. National president of the

Public Relations Society of America The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization trade association serving the public relations and communication community. It was founded in 1947 by combining the American Council on Public Relations an ...

, Poet Laureate of Virginia. * Al Babartsky (19 April 1915 – 29 December 2002) – collegiate and professional

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. He was one of the

Seven Blocks of Granite The Seven Blocks of Granite were the Fordham University football team's offensive line under head coach "Sleepy" Jim Crowley and line coach Glen Carberry Frank Leahy. The individuals identified among the Seven Blocks of Granite were Leo Paquin, ...

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

. * Celia Klemski (May 17, 1919 – October 24, 2016) - secretary for high ranking officials in the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

. * Francis Brennan (7 May 1894 – 2 July 1968) – the first American to receive an appointment to the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

. * John Cavosie –

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

player. *

Walter Ciszek Walter Joseph Ciszek, Jesuits, S.J. (November 4, 1904 – December 8, 1984) was a Polish-American Jesuits, Jesuit priest of the Russian Greek Catholic Church who Clandestine operation, clandestinely conducted Christian mission, missionary wo ...

–

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest and Russian

GULAG The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

survivor. Presently under consideration for possible

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

by the Roman Catholic Church and titled

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. * Anthony P. Damato – United States Marine and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient. A United States Navy was named in honor of Corporal Damato. * John Morgan Davis (9 August 1906 – 8 March 1984) –

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor of Pennsylvania, governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutena ...

from 1959 to 1963. *

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peopl ...

– jazz musician and bandleader. *

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombone, trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-to ...

– jazz musician and bandleader. * Leo Katalinas –

player. * Herschel Levit – professor, artist, designer, author. * Nicholas Marsicano- painter and teacher of the New York School. * Ron Mattes – National Football League player. * Al Matuza (11 September 1918 – 16 May 2004) – National Football League player. *

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Mary Joan Nielubowicz – Director of the

United States Navy Nurse Corps The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-female until 1965. Pre-19 ...

. *

Darryl Ponicsan Darryl Ponicsan (; born May 26, 1938) is an American writer. He is best known as the author of the 1970 novel ''The Last Detail,'' which was adapted into the 1973 film of the same name starring Jack Nicholson. A sequel, '' Last Flag Flying'', ba ...

– author and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, ''

The Last Detail ''The Last Detail'' is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, from a screenplay by Robert Towne, based on the 1970 novel by Darryl Ponicsan. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, and Caro ...

'', '' Cinderella Liberty''. * Abner Charles Powell (15 December 1860 – 7 August 1953)- professional baseball player, manager, owner and innovator. * Frank Racis – National Football League player. * Walter Slowakiewicz – fourth bishop of the Eastern Diocese of the

Polish National Catholic Church The Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC; , PNKK) is an independent Old Catholic church based in the United States and founded by Polish Americans that is part of the Union of Scranton. The PNCC is not in communion the Roman Catholic Church. S ...

* Barney Wentz – National Football League player. *

Jerry Wolman Jerry Wolman (February 14, 1927 – August 6, 2013) was an American developer in Washington, D.C. and owned the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League in the 1960s. Early years Wolman was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Sh ...

- former owner of

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

of NFL and

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. * Nellie King -

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher and broadcaster for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

* Ted Twardzik, founder of Mrs. T's Pierogies. * Tim Twardzik, State Representative, Pennsylvania’s 123rd Legislative District, and co-owner of Mrs. T’s Pierogies

Local media

*The Pottsville '' Republican – Herald'', daily newspaper, name merged from the Pottsville ''Republican'' and Shenandoah ''Evening Herald''. * The Hazleton ''Standard-Speaker'', daily newspaper, name merged from the ''Standard Sentinel'' (morning paper) and ''Plain Speaker'' (evening paper). * WCDH 91.5FM, licensed to Shenandoah, with a

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christianity, Chri ...

format. * Locally owned WMBT 1530 on the AM dial served the community from 1963 to 2003. * ''The Shenandoah Sentinel'', online local newspaper.

Education

The school district is Shenandoah Valley School District.

Churches

St Michael Greek Catholic Church ( Ruthenian Catholic Church) was first of that denomination in the United States. On 21 November 1886, the church was dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. The new parish was started four years earlier when a group of seventy Galician and Subcarpathian Ruthenian families gathered together and agreed to petition the Ruthenian Catholic

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

of Galicia. St. George Lithuanian Roman Catholic Church is the oldest Lithuanian parish in the United States. The Lithuanian parish was established in 1872, and the church was built in 1891. The church was demolished in 2010 by the decision of Diocese of Allentown and against the wishes of parishioners. St. Casimir Roman Catholic Church is listed as one of the oldest Polish parishes in the United States.

Gallery

File:Main St Welcome Sign, Shenandoah PA 01.JPG, Welcome Sign on Main Street. File:Shenandoah Borough Hall, PA 01.JPG, Shenandoah Borough Hall. File:Pennsylvania Anthracite Miners Memorial, Shenandoah PA 01.JPG, Pennsylvania Anthracite Miners Memorial. File:Main St, Shenandoah PA 01.JPG, Main Street. File:St John's Lutheran Church, Shenandoah PA 01.JPG, St. John's Lutheran Church.

Notes

References

External links

Downtown Shenandoah, Inc.

J.W. Cooper Community Center

Popalis Family History; Shenandoah History and Image Gallery

The Greater Shenandoah Area Historical Society
* {{authority control Populated places established in 1820 1820 establishments in Pennsylvania Municipalities of the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania Boroughs in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Coal towns in Pennsylvania