From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mount Carmel is the name of a borough in Northumberland
County, Pennsylvania, United States. The
population was 6390 at the 2000 census. It is located 88 miles
(141 km) northwest of Philadelphia and 71 miles (114 km)
northeast of Harrisburg, in the Anthracite Coal Region. It is contained within Mount Carmel Township.
History
The Mount Carmel Inn was opened in 1812 by Richard Yarnall and
was strategically located on the Centre Turnpike (also known as the
Reading-Sunbury Road or Old Reading Road) halfway between Pottsville and Danville. During the latter part
of 1854 the Philadelphia and Sunbury Railroad was completed from Shamokin to Mt. Carmel, which
led to the opening and development of a number of collieries in the
region. During the same year, the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron
Company commenced making extensive openings and improvements upon
their valuable coal lands in the vicinity of Mt. Carmel, building
breakers for two collieries - the Coal Ridge and Locust Mountain
collieries.[1]
The township was erected in 1854, formed from part of Coal
Township; by 1862 the borough was incorporated within the
township.
In the past, there were extensive anthracite coal
mining interests here and in the vicinity. In earlier years, the
borough had manufactories of miners' caps, cement blocks, cigars,
shirts, stockings, etc., and large silk and planing mills, foundry
and machine shops, a knitting mill, lumber yards, a packing plant,
and wagon works. Currently that area supports light manufacturing
in paper and plastics.
Timeline
- 1681 March 4 - Charles II of England grants a
land charter to William Penn to repay a debt of £20,000
owed to his father, creating the Province of Pennsylvania
- 1682 August 24 - Penn divided the Province into three counties,
Philadelphia, Bucks and Chester; The last comprised all lands west
and south of the Delaware and the Schuylkill; therefore the site of
Mount Carmel was originally in an area claimed by Chester County
- 1729 May 10 - Lancaster County created
out of part of Chester County
- 1749 August 22 - Land comprising Mount Carmel part of a tract
purchased from the Six Nations
of the Iroquois Confederation
- 1752 March 11 - Berks County created out of
part of Lancaster County
- before 1770 - Area inhabited by Native Americans
(possibly Lenape, Iroquois, and/or Saponi)
- 1770 - Europeans first settled in the area
- 1772 March 21 - Northumberland County formed, area that would
become Mt. Carmel located in what was then Augusta
Township
- 1783 September 3 - Treaty of Paris signed, formally
recognizing Pennsylvania's independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain
- 1785 - Catawissa
Township formed from part of Augusta township
- 1788 - Ralpho
Township formed from part of Catawissa township
- 1789 - Ralpho township renamed to Shamokin township
- 1790 - Anthracite coal discovered by Necho Allen on nearby
Broad Mountain
- 1805 March 25 - Centre Turnpike Company
incorporated
- 1808 - Centre Turnpike opens
- ~1811 - Centre Turnpike completed
- 1812 - Mt. Carmel Inn opens, located on the Centre Turnpike in
(then) Shamokin township
- ~1830s - coal mining begins
- 1837 - Coal
Township formed from parts of Little Mahanoy and Shamokin townships
- 1846 - first Post Office opens
- 1847 - land now comprising Mount Carmel Borough purchased by
speculators
- 1853 - town plot finalized
- 1854 November 14 - Mount Carmel Township incorporated, from
part of Coal Township
- 1855 - Evangelical Grace Church, the town's first church, opens
at Third & Market Streets
- 1855 - Centre Turnpike decommissioned
- 1862 November 3 - Mount Carmel Borough incorporated
- 1877 December - Mt. Carmel Progress, the pioneer
newspaper, was established
- 1883 November 17 - Edison Electric Illuminating
Company of Mount Carmel founded
- 1894 November - Shamokin-Mount Carmel Electric Railway (trolley line) connecting Shamokin with Mount Carmel
completed
- 1897 - Anthracite Brewing Company, later Mt. Carmel Brewery,
founded
- 1948 June 17 - United Airlines Flight 624
crashes near Midvalley Colliery No. 2; killing all 4 crew members
and 39 passengers on board
- 1951 - Mt. Carmel Brewery closes
Geography
Mount Carmel is located at 40°47′47″N 76°24′44″W / 40.79639°N
76.41222°W / 40.79639; -76.41222
(40.796447, -76.412231)[2] in
the ridge-and-valley zone of the central Appalachian Mountains. It is
drained by the Shamokin Creek and is part of the Lower
Susquehanna watershed [1].
According to the United States Census
Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.7 square miles
(1.7 km²), all of it land.
Sports
- The high school goes by the nickname, "The Red Tornadoes."
- Mount Carmel is heralded as one of the most well-known football
towns in the region.
- The borough's high school football program is the winningest in
the state.
- The long standing rivalry between Mt. Carmel and Shamokin Area is one of the
most well-known rivalries in the United States. In the annual Coal
Bucket Football Game the two areas collide usually leading to
friendly vandalism
between the two schools throughout the week of the game.
- Mount Carmel's football team has captured the PIAA Class AA
title 5 times since the state initiated the playoff system in 1988.
They won in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002.
- The team also won the state championships in 1927 before the
playoff system was initiated.
- The borough is home to former Major League Baseball player, Frank Bolick, former
New York Jets
football player Dan
Ficca, current Philadelphia Eagles assistant coach
to Andy Reid, Bret Veach , former San Francisco 49ers player Len Eshmont, and former
New York State Billiards Champion Dave Daya.
- The Mount Carmel Boys High School Track Team won the PIAA AA
State title in 1998.
- Although over shadowed by a predominatly football town, Mount
Carmel is also very well known for its runners.
- Mount Carmel was one of the first schools in the state to have
a cross country team.
- The cross country team has over 6000 dual meet victories and
has won countless titles since its formation in 1935.
Demographics
|
Historical populations |
|
Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1870 |
1,289 |
|
—
|
| 1890 |
8,345 |
|
—
|
| 1900 |
13,719 |
|
64.4% |
| 1910 |
17,532 |
|
27.8% |
| 1920 |
17,469 |
|
−0.4% |
| 1930 |
17,967 |
|
2.9% |
| 1940 |
17,780 |
|
−1.0% |
| 1950 |
14,000 |
|
−21.3% |
| 1960 |
10,780 |
|
−23.0% |
| 1970 |
9,317 |
|
−13.6% |
| 1990 |
7,196 |
|
—
|
| 2000 |
6,390 |
|
−11.2% |
| Est. 2005 |
6,053 |
[3] |
−5.3% |
As of the census[4] of
2000, there were 6,390 people, 3,035 households, and 1,678 families
residing in the borough. The population density was 9,655.6
people per square mile (3,738.2/km²). There were 3,629 housing
units at an average density of 5,483.6/sq mi (2,123.0/km²).
The racial makeup of the borough was 98.56% White, 0.06% African
American, 0.16% Native
American, 0.28% Asian, 0.02% Pacific
Islander, 0.25% from other
races, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any
race were 0.89% of the population.
There were 3,035 households out of which 21.9% had children
under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living
together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present,
and 44.7% were non-families. 41.2% of all households were made up
of individuals and 24.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years
of age or older. The average household size was 2.10 and the
average family size was 2.86.
In the borough the population was spread out with 19.7% under
the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from
45 to 64, and 25.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.6 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $22,168,
and the median income for a family was $35,217. Males had a median
income of $28,168 versus $20,595 for females. The per capita
income for the borough was $14,858. About 14.2% of families and
18.2% of the population were below the poverty line,
including 29.1% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or
over.
Education
Public
schools
Mount Carmel Area School
District
- Mount Carmel Area Elementary School
- Grades Pre-K through 6th
- 856 students
- Mount Carmel Area Junior/Senior High School
Private
schools
National Catholic
Educational Association (Roman Catholic)
- Holy Spirit Elementary School (closed 2006)
- Grades K through 8th
- 176 students (2005 data)
- Mt. Carmel Catholic High School (closed)
Transportation
Highways
- Pennsylvania Route 61, designated
from 1963 to the present, previously:
- Pennsylvania Route 54
- before 1929: Ashland Road
- 1929 - 1961: PA 54 via Ashland Road
- 1961 - 1966: designated as PA 45 via Ashland Road
- 1966 - 1999: reassigned concurrent with PA 61 east of Mount
Carmel
- 1999 - present: route changed to follow SR 2035, PA 901, SR
2042, SR 3002, and SR 4028 to rejoin its former route along PA
61.
- Pennsylvania Route 901
- Routed through Mount Carmel Township by 1969
Railroads
Town
facts
- Mount Carmel High School has its own student-run television
studio WKMC 13. The studio broadcasts a live morning news program
and televises other school functions to Mount Carmel and other
local communities.
- The town has two annual block parties hosted
by the Divine Redeemer Church and Our Lady's Church
respectively.
- An annual party is thrown in the town park in the Summer where
game stands, rides, and food stands are set up for the public to
enjoy. The day is complete with a band throughout the day.
- Mount Carmel was at one time known as "The City of Churches" as
it had over 20 different churches[5].
- Due to its geographical position, being surrounded by
mountains, the threat of tornadoes has been avoided throughout the
borough's history.
- Population dramatically increased in 1984 due to the relocation
of residents from Centralia, PA, where an ongoing underground
mine fire caused Congress to relocate residents.
- The old Shamokin Valley and Pottsville railway, although
defunct, still has old bits of track lying behind Seventh Street in
Mount Carmel.
See also
References
External
links
Wikis
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