Smithfield Township is a township in Monroe 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 ...

, United States. The population was 8,001 at the 2020 census.

History

"In 1746, the first action was taken for the formation of Smithfield Township, the first municipal division north of the Blue Mountains. The petition contained the names of twenty-seven landholders."Luther S. Hoffman, ''The Unwritten History of Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania'' (East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania: The Artcraft Press, 1938), p. 4. The township comprised all the settlements above the mountains. Originally in Bucks County, Smithfield Township was erected in 1748."Local History Articles," database, ''Monroe County ennsylvaniaHistorical Association'' (http://www.monroehistorical.org/articles_files/022211_smithhamtwp.html: accessed 24 September 2018), Our earliest townships: Smithfield and Hamilton, by Amy Leiser, February 02, 2011. "In 1752, when Northampton County was set off from Bucks County, it comprised all of Smithfield which included what is now Lehigh, Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne" Counties. The Shawnee-Minisink Site was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2007. Worthington Hall was listed in 1978 and delisted in 1986 after being demolished.

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 23.9 square miles (61.8 km²), of which 23.2 square miles (60.0 km²) is land and 0.7 square mile (1.8 km²) (2.93%) is water.

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 5,672 people, 2,084 households, and 1,535 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 3,028 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 87.78%

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 ...

, 5.62%

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 ...

, 0.44% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 3.00% from other races, and 2.19% 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 7.39% of the population. There were 2,084 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.8% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.07. In the township the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males. The median income for a household in the township was $51,607, and the median income for a family was $57,526. Males had a median income of $40,863 versus $28,772 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 $23,627. About 5.2% of families and 9.0% 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 7.7% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

According to the Trewartha climate classification system, Smithfield Township has a Temperate

Continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

(''Dc'') with warm summers (''b''), cold winters (''o'') and year-around precipitation (''Dcbo''). ''Dcbo'' climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ , four to seven months with an average mean temperature ≥ , all months with an average mean temperature < and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are slightly humid in Smithfield Township, episodes of heat and high humidity can occur with

heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shade (shadow), shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the Shade (s ...

values > . Since 1981, the highest air temperature was on July 22, 2011, and the highest daily average mean dew point was on August 1, 2006. July is the peak month for thunderstorm activity, which correlates with the average warmest month of the year. The average wettest month is September, which correlates with tropical storm remnants during the peak of the

Atlantic hurricane season The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year, from June 1 through November 30, when Tropical cyclone, tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the North Atlantic Ocean. These dates, adopted by convention ...

. Since 1981, the wettest calendar day was on October 8, 2005. During the winter months, the plant hardiness zone is 6a, with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . Since 1981, the coldest air temperature was on January 21, 1994. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur with wind chill values < . The average snowiest month is January, which correlates with the average coldest month of the year. Ice storms and large snowstorms depositing ≥ of snow occur once every couple of years, particularly during nor’easters from December through March.

Transportation

As of 2019, there were of public roads in Smithfield Township, of which were maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) and were maintained by the township. Interstate 80 is the most prominent highway serving Smithfield Township. It follows the Keystone Shortway along an east–west alignment through the southwestern portion of the township. U.S. Route 209 enters the township concurrently with I-80, then turns northeastward and follows Seven Bridge Road, Marshalls Creek Bypass and Milford Road through the heart of the township. U.S. Route 209 Business begins at US 209 near the northeastern edge of the township and follows Milford Road southwestward across the northwestern portion of the township. Pennsylvania Route 402 begins at US 209 Business and heads northward across the northeastern portion of the township. Finally, Pennsylvania Route 447 begins at US 209 and heads northwestward along Independence Road across the western portion of the township.

Ecology

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. potential natural vegetation types, Smithfield Township would have a dominant vegetation type of Appalachian Oak (''104'') with a dominant vegetation form of Eastern

Hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

Forest (''25''). The peak spring bloom typically occurs in late-April and peak fall color usually occurs in mid-October. The plant hardiness zone is 6a with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of .

References

External links

Township website
{{authority control Populated places established in 1725 Townships in Monroe County, Pennsylvania 1725 establishments in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania populated places on the Delaware River