Union 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 2,033 at the 2020 census.

History

Establishment

Union Township was formed from a piece of Huntington Township in July 1813. The first settlements, outside of what is now Shickshinny, were erected by George Fink and Peter Gregory in 1790. Other settlers, most of whom were from

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. ...

, followed in their footsteps. The first

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

s in the territory were later constructed along

Shickshinny Creek Shickshinny Creek (historically known as Shickohinna) is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in the Wyoming Valley in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately long and flows through Ross Township, Luzerne County ...

Koonsville

Koonsville is a former logging town in Union Township. Most of the white settlers, fearing Iroquois raids, fled their homes after the

Battle of Wyoming The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois warriors. The battle took place in the Wyoming Val ...

in 1778. Several white farmers and loggers returned a few years later to rebuild; this included Shadrick Austin, who bought 256 acres (1.04 km2) of land. In 1801, he established the Austin Family Inn. In 1850, William Koons moved into the area and occupied the Austin family Inn. A post office was built the same year. William Koons served as its first postmaster. The community was later given the name Koonsville (in honor of William Koons).

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 1.88%, is water. The southeastern border is defined 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 ...

. Shickshinny Mountain, a forested ridge, runs along the riverbank. Huntington Mountain defines the southernmost boundary of the township.

forms a

gorge A canyon (; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), gorge or chasm, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tend ...

as it flows between the two ridges. Koonsville is located along the creek (in the southern half of the township). U.S. 11 and PA 239 travel through the southern portion of Union. The northern half of the municipality is made up of hills and small farming communities (e.g., Muhlenburg and Town Line).

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 2,100 people, 769 households, and 602 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 857 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 99.29%

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 ...

, 0.14%

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 ...

, 0.10% Native American, 0.24% Asian, and 0.24% 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 0.52% of the population. There were 769 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.8% 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, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% 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 2.97. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males. The median income for a household in the township was $45,136, and the median income for a family was $47,321. Males had a median income of $36,486 versus $21,806 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 $18,323. About 4.4% 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 5.7% of those under age 18 and 2.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Union Township is part of the Northwest Area School District.

References

{{Coord, 41, 12, 00, N, 76, 09, 59, W, type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki, display=title Townships in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania