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 and 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 ...
of
Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Monroe County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,327. Its county seat is Stroudsburg. The county is part of the Northeast Pennsylvania region of the state. The county was formed fr ...
, United States. It lies within the Poconos region approximately five miles (8 km) from the
Delaware Water Gap
The Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.
The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Wa ...
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 ...
Stroudsburg was laid out by Colonel Jacob Stroud in 1799. Stroud's family founded Stroudsburg in the mid-1700s, and the town was incorporated on February 5, 1815.
Stroudsburg was the location of the lynching of Richard Puryear in March 1894. A Black railroad worker accused of murdering a white storekeeper, Puryear was lynched by a mostly white mob after he escaped from prison. Despite a grand jury investigation, no one was charged or convicted for Puryear's murder.
The Academy Hill Historic District, Kitson Woolen Mill, Monroe County Courthouse, and Stroud Mansion are 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 ...
.
Geography
Stroudsburg is located at (40.985764, -75.195352).
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the borough has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2), of which 1.8 square miles (4.6 km2) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km2) (1.67%) is water.
Stroudsburg is located north 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 ...
and southeast of
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 ...
. Stroudsburg's elevation is above sea level.
Stroudsburg is located in the heart of 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 ...
and serves as the Monroe County seat.
Downtown
Downtown Stroudsburg is the commercial hub for the surrounding area, serving as the Monroe County seat, and is located just off
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 ...
. It is the only traditional downtown in the area. Downtown Stroudsburg is home to more than 24 restaurants, nine art galleries, three women's clothing stores, numerous antique stores, several general merchandisers, many specialty shops, two hotels, the local
YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...
, 11 financial institutions and the core of the legal profession in Monroe County. There are 600 hotel rooms within of Downtown Stroudsburg. Downtown Stroudsburg also features a wide tree lined Main Street with historically rich architecture, plenty of on street parking, several municipal parking lots, one parking garage and another on the drawing board. Currently the total trade area population is about 250,000. This includes all of Monroe and Pike Counties, as well as northern Northampton County and
Warren County, New Jersey
Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. According to the 2020 census, the county was the state's 19th-most populous county,East Stroudsburg University business accelerator, the Pocono Family YMCA, the US Post Office, the Monroe County Courthouse, the Monroe County Administration Center, the largest regional police force in Pennsylvania, and the Pocono Mountains
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...
As of the 2000 census, there were 5,756 people, 2,422 households, and 1,237 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 2,630 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 58.05%
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 ...
, 30.01%
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 ...
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 6.95% of the population.
There were 2,422 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.8% 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, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.9% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.98.
The population was spread out, with 21.2% under the age of 18, 15.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $32,409, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $31,952 versus $26,863 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 borough was $18,965. About 9.6% of families and 19.3% 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 20.2% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.
Media
Stroudsburg is part of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre media market. Since 1947, WPCO-840 AM has served the community. Co-owned WSBG-93.5 FM began in 1964. Television stations WBRE-28, WNEP-16, and WYOU-22 each have news bureaus in downtown Stroudsburg. The headquarters of the
Pocono Record
The ''Pocono Record'' is a daily newspaper published in print and online in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, United States.
History
The ''Pocono Record'' was founded as the ''Stroudsburg Daily Times'' on April 2, 1894.
In 1946 the newspaper was pur ...
newspaper is also located in Stroudsburg.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Roads and highways
As of 2020, there were of public roads in Stroudsburg, of which were maintained by the
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) oversees transportation issues in the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The administrator of PennDOT is the Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation, Michael B. Carroll. PennDOT ...
(PennDOT) and were maintained by the borough.
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 ...
and U.S. Route 209 are the most prominent highways serving Stroudsburg. They traverse the borough concurrently via the Keystone Shortway along an east–west alignment across the southern portion of the borough. U.S. Route 209 Business follows Main Street along a southwest–northeast alignment through the center of the borough. Pennsylvania Route 191 follows Broad Street and Fifth Street along a north–south alignment across the eastern part of the borough. Finally,
Pennsylvania Route 611
Pennsylvania Route 611 (PA 611) is a state highway in eastern Pennsylvania running from Interstate 95 in Pennsylvania, Interstate 95 (I-95) in the southern part of Philadelphia north to Interstate 380 (Pennsylvania), I-380 in Coolbaugh Townshi ...
follows Foxtown Hill Road, Park Avenue, Main Street, and Ninth Street along a southeast–northwest alignment through the center of the borough, including a short concurrency with US 209 Business.
Public transportation
The Monroe County Transit Authority (MCTA) serves Monroe County with three bus routes. Stroudsburg is served by MCTA's Blue, Yellow, and Red Routes. Only three of the authority's routes have their hub at the Stroud Mall, the Orange Route goes to
Giant
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''wiktionary:gigas, gigas'', cognate wiktionary:giga-, giga-) are beings of humanoid appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''gia ...
in Bartonsville, just northwest of the borough on PA 611 in adjacent Stroud Township. Connections to other MCTA routes are provided at the Stroud Mall.
Until the mid-1960s the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, also known as the DL&W or Lackawanna Railroad, was a U.S. Class 1 railroad that connected Buffalo, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey, and by ferry with New York City, a distance of . The railroad was ...
and later the
Erie Lackawanna Railroad
The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...
served the town with the ''
Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals on Paul Simo ...
,'' the '' Lake Cities'' and several other trains. Since the 2010s there have been efforts to restore passenger rail service to
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 ...
, in the Lackawanna Cut-Off Restoration Project. Grants have been committed to bridge restoration to ensure the restoration of train movement.
Martz Bus and Aegean Transportation provide service to NYC, while various smaller companies provide service to
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.PPL Corporation
PPL Corporation is an energy company headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The company is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as and is part of the S&P 500. As of 2022, the compa ...
and
FirstEnergy
FirstEnergy Corp. is an electric utility headquartered in Akron, Ohio. It was established when Ohio Edison merged with Centerior Energy in 1997. Its subsidiaries and affiliates are involved in distributing, transmitting, and generating electrici ...
subsidiary Met-Ed both provide electricity to Stroudsburg. In the borough, the two companies' service areas overlap and they share utility lines, with the electric provider varying by home or business. Originally, customers could not change the company that maintained the electric line that connected to the home or business, but in 2014, a ruling by the Pennsylvania Utility Commission allowed a business owner to change the owner of the line from Met-Ed to PPL Electric Utilities. UGI Central Penn Gas provides natural gas to Stroudsburg. The Brodhead Creek Regional Authority provides water to Stroudsburg and surrounding areas, with its water supply coming from the Brodhead Creek. The Stroudsburg Borough Sewer Department provides sewer service to the borough, operating a wastewater treatment plant. Trash collection in Stroudsburg is provided by private haulers while recycling collection is provided by the borough.
Public education
The borough is served by the Stroudsburg Area School District. Within this district there are four neighborhood elementary (K-4) schools: Arlington Heights Elementary, B.F. Morey Elementary, Hamilton Elementary, and Stroudsburg Chipperfield Elementary School. There are three other schools within the district: Stroudsburg Middle School (5–7), Stroudsburg Junior High School (8–9), and Stroudsburg High School (10–12). The athletic teams for Stroudsburg High School are called the Mountaineers, and the school colors are maroon and white.
Politics
In contrast with its past, Stroudsburg borough is now solidly Democratic, voting for President Joseph R. Biden by over 35 percentage points. Former Mayor Tarah Probst (D) resigned from the office after winning a seat in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections. In December 2022, the City Council appointed Michael Moreno (D) to the office of mayor to fill the remainder of Probst's term, which runs through the 2023 municipal elections. The city council was Democratic controlled, with 6 seats held by Democrats, and 1 seat held by a Democratic/Republican.
Climate
According to the
Trewartha climate classification
The Trewartha climate classification (TCC), or the Köppen–Trewartha climate classification (KTC), is a climate classification system first published by American geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha in 1966. It is a modified version of the Köp ...
system, Stroudsburg 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 ...
with hot summers, cold winters and year-around precipitation (''Dcao''). ''Dcao'' climates are characterized by at least one month having an average mean temperature ≤ , four to seven months with an average mean temperature ≥ , at least one month with an average mean temperature ≥ and no significant precipitation difference between seasons. Although most summer days are slightly humid in Stroudsburg, 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 has been on July 22, 2011, and the highest daily average mean
dew point
The dew point is the temperature the air needs to be cooled to (at constant pressure) in order to produce a relative humidity of 100%. This temperature depends on the pressure and water content of the air. When the air at a temperature above the ...
was on August 28, 2018. July is the peak month for
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak 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 month 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 has been 6.35 inches (161 mm), on October 8, 2005. During the winter months, the
plant 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 6b, with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of . Since 1981, the coldest air temperature has been , on January 21, 1994. Episodes of extreme cold and wind can occur, with
wind chill
Wind chill (popularly wind chill factor) is the sensation of cold produced by the wind for a given ambient air temperature on exposed skin as the air motion accelerates the rate of heat transfer from the body to the surrounding atmosphere. Its va ...
values < . The average snowiest month is January, which correlates with the average coldest month of the year.
Ice storm
An ice storm, also known as a glaze event or a silver storm, is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain. The National Weather Service, U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulatio ...
s and large snowstorms depositing ≥ 12 inches (30 cm) of snow occur once every couple of years, particularly during
nor’easter
A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a large-scale extratropical cyclone in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The name derives from the direction of the winds that blow from the northeast. Typically, such storms originate as a low-pr ...
Oak
An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...
(''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
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 6b with an average annual extreme minimum air temperature of .
Notable people
* Bugz Ronin, American record producer and songwriter
*
Al Cohn
Al Cohn (November 24, 1925 – February 15, 1988) was an American jazz saxophonist, arranger and composer. He came to prominence in the band of clarinetist Woody Herman and was known for his longtime musical partnership with fellow saxophonist ...
art historian
Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history.
Traditionally, the ...
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
who flew on
STS-9
STS-9 (also referred to Spacelab 1) was the ninth NASA Space Shuttle mission and the sixth mission of the Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. Launched on November 28, 1983, the ten-day mission carried the first Spacelab laboratory module into orbit.
...
and
STS-45
STS-45 was a 1992 NASA Space Shuttle mission using the . Its almost nine-day scientific mission was with a non-deployable payload of instruments. It was the 46th Space Shuttle mission and the 11th for ''Atlantis''.
Crew
Crew seat assignm ...
Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
attorney general of the United States
The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government. The attorney general acts as the principal legal advisor to the president of the ...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...