Carbondale, Pennsylvania

Carbondale is a city in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States.[4] Carbondale is located approximately 15 miles due northeast of the city of Scranton in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 8,828 at the 2020 census.

Carbondale, Pennsylvania
City
Carbondale City Hall and Courthouse
Nickname(s): 
The Pioneer City
Location of Carbondale in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania.
Carbondale
Location of Carbondale in Pennsylvania
Carbondale
Carbondale (the United States)
Coordinates: 41°34′N 75°30′W
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
CountyLackawanna
Established1824
Government
 • MayorJustin Taylor[1] (D)
Area
[2]
 • Total3.24 sq mi (8.40 km2)
 • Land3.24 sq mi (8.40 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
1,076 ft (328 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total8,891
 • Estimate 
(2019)[3]
8,383
 • Density2,584.95/sq mi (998.06/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP Code
18407
Area code(s)570 Exchanges: 281, 282
FIPS code42-11232

The land area that became Carbondale was developed by William and Maurice Wurts, the founders of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, during the rise of the anthracite coal mining industry[4] in the early 19th century. It was also a major terminal of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. Carbondale was the site of the first deep vein anthracite coal mine[5] in the United States, and was the site of the Carbondale mine fire which burned from 1946 to the early 1970s.

Like many other cities and towns in the region, Carbondale has struggled with the demise of the once-prominent coal mining industry that had once made the region a haven for immigrants seeking work so many decades ago. Immigrants from Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy and from throughout continental Europe came to Carbondale in the course of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries to work in the anthracite and railroading industries.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Carbondale has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), all of it land.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18402,398—
18504,945106.2%
18605,0902.9%
18706,39325.6%
18807,71420.7%
189010,83340.4%
190013,53625.0%
191017,04025.9%
192018,6409.4%
193020,0617.6%
194019,371−3.4%
195016,296−15.9%
196013,595−16.6%
197012,478−8.2%
198011,255−9.8%
199010,664−5.3%
20009,804−8.1%
20108,891−9.3%
20208,828−0.7%
[6][7][8]

As of the census[9] of 2010, there were 8,891 people, 3,734 households, and 2,234 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,778.4 people per square mile (1,072.7/km2). There were 4,144 housing units at an average density of 1,295 per square mile (505.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.2% White, 1% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 3,734 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37% were married couples living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 57.3% from 18 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,574, and the median income for a family was $35,351. Males had a median income of $30,362 versus $21,922 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,914. About 9.2% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

Today, the Carbondale Historical Society and Museum records and maintains that history. The Carbondale City Hall and Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[10] The Delaware and Hudson Canal Gravity Railroad Shops have been demolished, but were once listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[10]

The Carbondale mine fire began in Carbondale in 1946.[11]

Notable "firsts"
  • 1829: the Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad from Carbondale to Honesdale began operations on October 9, 1829. This was the first commercially successful railroad to operate in America.
  • 1833: the first Saint Patrick's Day parade in what is now Lackawanna County is held in Carbondale, as stated in the Scranton Times-Tribune: “It comes as no surprise that the Irish people of Carbondale would want to celebrate the patron saint of their homeland. [. . .] The Feb. 28, 1833, issue of the Northern Pennsylvanian, the first newspaper published in Carbondale, contained a notice to “Hibernians” of a public meeting to be held [. . .] ‘for the purpose of taking measures to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.’ [. . .] The Carbondale parade is the first one mentioned in any history of the region that is now Lackawanna County.”[12]
  • 1850: the first eisteddfod (a Welsh musical and literary festival) in America was held in Carbondale on Christmas Day, 1850. Among the literarians and musicians who attended were Daniel Davies, the Rev. John Moses, Thomas Eynon, the Rev. Thomas J. Phillips, and Edward Jones. These were the pioneer eisteddofdwyr of America.
  • 1851: Carbondale was incorporated as a city in Luzerne County on March 15, 1851,[13] making it the oldest city (the "Pioneer" city) in what later became Lackawanna County, and the fourth oldest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
  • 1853: the first lodge in America of the ancient Welsh fraternal order of Ivorites was opened in Carbondale in the fall of 1853; the first public Ivorite celebration in America took place in Carbondale in August 1855, when a procession and other public exercises took place, under the direction of Thomas Voyle, Esquire, chief marshal, and Edward Roberts, Esquire.

Notable people

Transportation

Highway

U.S. Business Route 6 runs down Main Street, Carbondale, as the main highway through the city. Recently completed after years of highly visible construction, the four-lane Robert P. Casey Memorial Highway U.S. Route 6 runs from Interstate 81 near Scranton north past Carbondale with interchanges outside, but close to, the city limits.

Rail

As the city responsible for the importation of America's first steam locomotive, the Stourbridge Lion in 1829, Carbondale was once a main terminus of the Delaware and Hudson Railway. It was also served by the Erie Railroad and the New York, Ontario and Western Railway.

Today Carbondale is served by the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority and its designated-operator Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad on a single remaining D&H mainline track running to Scranton, now called the Carbondale Mainline.

Steamtown National Historic Site on occasion provides excursion trains originating from the Scranton Yard to the Carbondale Station for special events.[15]

Bus

Carbondale is served by the County of Lackawanna Transit System (COLTS).

Local transportation

Carbondale is served by the #52 and #82 lines, run by COLTS bus.

Media

WCDL-AM 1440 has served the area since 1950. Co-owned WTRW broadcasts on 94.5 FM.

  • Carbondale holds an annual festival every summer called Pioneer Days, in honor of Carbondale's nickname, The Pioneer City. The festival features local bands, arts and crafts, carnival games, festival food, and a fireworks display.
  • Carbondale was mentioned in "The Injury", an episode of NBC's television series The Office. "I got your pudding cups at a gas station in Carbondale", says the character Ryan Howard (played by actor B.J. Novak). It was also mentioned in the episode "Niagara", when Dwight Schrute, played by Rainn Wilson, mentions that Pam's best friend Isabel is "a dental hygienist from Carbondale and makes love like one." In the episode "Goodbye, Michael" Michael is initially unable to say goodbye to Pam because she is supposedly away pricing shredders in Carbondale.
  • Carbondale was mentioned in "Chapter 9", an episode of Netflix's television series House of Cards (U.S. TV series). "We were supposed to leave for Carbondale 10 minutes ago."
  • Annual Saint David's Day Dinner, March 1: hosted by the Historical Society to commemorate the Welsh roots of the City of Carbondale and to celebrate the Welsh heritage of a great many residents of the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys in Pennsylvania.
  • Annual Crystal Band Christmas Concert takes place on the first Sunday in December, hosted by the Historical Society and the Berean Baptist Church. The Crystal Band, founded in the Petersburg section of Scranton in 1887, is an all-volunteer concert band that is made up of residents from throughout northeastern Pennsylvania.
  • The independent film Wanda was filmed in Carbondale and the surrounding region.
  • The song “Duquesne Whistle” on the album Tempest by Bob Dylan mentions Carbondale in the song's first verse. “I’m gonna stop in Carbondale and keep on going.”
  • the 2010 film "Blue Valentine" was filmed, in part, in Carbondale.[16]

See also

References
  1. Robert Golomb; The Published Reporter, Democratic Mayor Justin Taylor: Why Many Pennsylvanians Now Say “The Road To The White House Runs Through Carbondale”
  2. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  3. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Carbondale" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  5. Tablet Marking The Site of The First Underground Coal Mine in Carbondale
  6. "1940 Census – Census of Population and Housing – U.S. Census Bureau". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 2010-03-27. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  7. "1960 Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  8. "1990 Census of Population and Housing Unit Counts United States" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  9. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  10. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  11. Ann G. Kim; Thomas R. Justin; John F. Miller, Mine Fire Diagnostics Applied to the Carbondale, PA Mine Fire Site (PDF), retrieved June 1, 2014
  12. The Sunday Times, 6 March 2011, "Scranton's Green Party," Page P3, Scranton
  13. Hollister, Horace (1885). History of the Lackawanna Valley. Lippincott. p. 488.
  14. National news media
  15. "Carbondale-Line Excursions".
  16. "New 'Blue Valentine' movie has local ties".
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