In 1745, the first colonial settlement in Carbon County was established by aMoravian mission in Gnadenhutten, in present-dayLehighton. By 1752, increased hostility between colonialists andIndians put Gnadenhutten at risk for attack; in 1755, the community was attacked by Indians.[4]
In the late 1780s, the county's settlement atLehigh Gap failed, and colonizers did not return for a decade, in the late 1780s.[5]
In 1791, a homesteader, Phillip Ginter, hunting on Sharp Mountain alongPisgah Mountain[6] discovered a black tonecoal outcropping, and conveyed a chunk of it toWeissport.
Lehigh Coal Mine Company (LCMC) operations had managed to open up the mouth area of theNesquehoning Creek by 1800. This area became known as Lausanne, or Lausanne Landing, after the inn and tavern built there called Landing Tavern. An Indian trail crossed the stream near the confluence with Jean's Run[7] and the camp grounds of their boat builders, climbing northwestwards along a traverse to the next water gap west, eroded into the southern flank ofBroad Mountain in theLehigh Valley. It connected across abarrier ridge whose waters originated in thesaddle-pass whereHazleton was built. The trail became theLehigh and Susquehanna Turnpike in 1804. PA Route 93 follows this route with the exception of where modern road building capabilities allowed improved positioning. This road cut 90–100 miles (140–160 km) off a trip fromPhiladelphia to theWyoming Valley and the northern sections of theCoal Region.
Carbon County was created on March 13, 1843, from parts ofNorthampton andMonroe counties and was named for the extensive deposits ofanthracite coal in the region, where it was first discovered in 1791. Early attempts were made to exploit the deposits by Lehigh Coal Mine Company (1792), whose expeditions broke trail and pioneered river bank sites using mule powered technology to log, saw, and buildarks to carry bags of coal toPhiladelphia with only scant success.
In the 19th century, Carbon County was the location of trials and executions of theMolly Maguires, anIrish secret society that terrorrized the region, attacking officials, police officers, and industrial equipment.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 387 square miles (1,000 km2), of which 381 square miles (990 km2) is land and 5.9 square miles (15 km2) (1.5%) is water.[9]Blue Mountain forms the southern boundary of Carbon County. The northeast area of the county is located in thePocono Mountains and the northwest area includes portions ofBroad and Spring mountains.
Carbon County has ahumid continental climate (Dfa/Dfb) and is mostly inhardiness zone 6b except for the NE part of the county and higher NW areas where it is 6a. Average monthly temperatures at Jake Arner Memorial Airport range from 27.8 °F in January to 72.5 °F in July, while at the Pocono interchange of the Turnpike they range from 22.9 °F in January to 68.3 °F in July.[10]
U.S. Decennial Census[11] 1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13] 1990-2000[14] 2010-2017[15]
As of the 2000 census,[16] there were 58,802 people, 23,701 households, and 16,424 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 154 people per square mile (59 people/km2). There were 30,492 housing units at an average density of 80 units per square mile (31/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.82%White, 0.60%Black orAfrican American, 0.16%Native American, 0.31%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 0.32% fromother races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 29.4% were ofGerman, 10.1%Irish, 9.2%Italian, 7.9%American, 6.6%Slovak, 6.0%Polish and 5.8%Ukrainian ancestry.
There were 23,701 households, out of which 28.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.80% weremarried couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.70% were non-families. 26.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.93.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.20% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 28.30% from 25 to 44, 24.20% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.30 males.
Carbon County has long been considered a bellwether county for Pennsylvania statewide elections. In gubernatorial elections, it was perfect from 1952 to 2014.[21][22][23]
At the presidential level, Carbon County has also been a bellwether for Pennsylvania until recently with only one miss (the1960 presidential election) between1916 presidential election and the2000 presidential election, and with a margin within 3.5 points of the statewide margin in every election from 1940 to 2000 except 1964 (5.3% more Democratic) and 1976 (6.9% more Democratic).Al Gore carried the county in 2000.George W. Bush defeated DemocratJohn Kerry 49.99% to 48.81%, or a margin of 296 votes, in 2004.[24]
As of February 7, 2024, there were 43,217 registered voters in the county. There are 21,871 (50.61%) registeredRepublicans, 14,592 (33.76%) registeredDemocrats, 4,723 (10.93%) voters registerednon-affiliated voters, and 2,031 (4.70%) voters registered toother parties.[25]
Mauch Chunk Lake is a county-run park that offers swimming, camping, hiking and cross country skiing in the winter. There are threePennsylvania state parks in Carbon County:
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:cities,boroughs,townships, and, in the case ofBloomsburg, atown. The following boroughs and townships are located in Carbon County:
Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by theU.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law. Other unincorporated communities, such as villages, may be listed here as well.
^"PHMC Historical Markers Search".Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Archived fromthe original(Searchable database) on March 21, 2016. RetrievedJanuary 25, 2014.
^The "reasonably local Sharp Mountain of today is the same ridge, but is geographically limited by modern USGS conventions to the part west of theLittle Schuylkill River'swater gap. The Sharp Mountain SUMMIT, was a peak nearSummit Hill, Pennsylvania, now leveled by mining activity."
^Jean's Run is the first left bank tributary of Nesquehoning Creek, upstream from Nesquehoning Creek's mouth on theLehigh River. It has three falls and steep ravine sides, so was not a valley congenial to wagon travel, nor likely friendly to climbing with pack mules without great care and persuasion.The toll house for the turnpike was located nearby opposite the mouth of Jean's Run, andPA Route 93 crosses today from an elevated bridge, so the Turnpike climbed from Jean's Run across the slope to the same level as the Broad Mountain side of today's bridge.
^Bartholomew, Ann M.; Metz, Lance E.; Kneis, Michael (1989).DELAWARE and LEHIGH CANALS (First ed.). Oak Printing Company, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Center for Canal History and Technology, Hugh Moore Historical Park and Museum, Inc.,Easton, Pennsylvania. p. 4.ISBN0930973097.LCCN89-25150.
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