Editing Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania

{{short description|Township in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{Distinguish|Jenkintown, Pennsylvania}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Jenkins Township, Pennsylvania
|settlement_type = [[Township (Pennsylvania)|Township]]
|nickname = 
|motto = 
|image_skyline = Jenkins TWP Muni Building LuzCo PA (cropped).jpg
|imagesize = 
|image_caption = Municipal Building in [[Inkerman, Pennsylvania|Inkerman]]
|image_flag = 
|image_seal = 
|image_map = File:Map of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Highlighting Jenkins Township.PNG
|mapsize = 250x200px
|map_caption = Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County
|image_map1 = Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County.svg
|mapsize1 = 250x200px
|map_caption1 = Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Luzerne County
<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Pennsylvania]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Pennsylvania|County]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Luzerne County, Pennsylvania|Luzerne]]
|subdivision_type3 = [[Region]]
|subdivision_name3 = [[Greater Pittston]]
|government_footnotes = 
|government_type = 
|leader_title = 
|leader_name = 
|leader_title1 = 
|leader_name1 = 
|leader_title2 = 
|leader_name2 = 
|established_title = Settled
|established_date = 
|established_title1 = Incorporated
|established_date1 = June 24, 1852
|unit_pref = Imperial
|area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2016">{{cite web|title=2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2016_Gazetteer/2016_gaz_place_42.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 14, 2017}}</ref>
|area_magnitude = 
|area_total_km2 = 36.21
|area_land_km2 = 35.47
|area_water_km2 = 0.75
|area_total_sq_mi = 13.98
|area_land_sq_mi = 13.69
|area_water_sq_mi = 0.29
|population_as_of = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
|population_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021">{{cite web |author=((US Census Bureau)) |title=City and Town Population Totals: 2020—2021 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-cities-and-towns.html |website=Census.gov |publisher=US Census Bureau |access-date=August 4, 2022}}</ref>
|population_total = 4282 {{decrease}}
|population_density_km2 = 125.35
|population_density_sq_mi = 324.67
|timezone = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset = -5
|timezone_DST = EDT
|utc_offset_DST = -4
|postal_code_type = 
|postal_code = 
|area_code = 
|website = {{URL|jenkinstownship.net}}
|footnotes = 
|pop_est_as_of = 2021
|pop_est_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>
|population_est = 4337
|blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
|blank_info = 42-079-37984
}}
'''Jenkins Township''' is a [[Township (Pennsylvania)|township]] in the [[Greater Pittston]] area of [[Luzerne County, Pennsylvania]], United States. The population was 4,282 at the 2020 census.<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>

==History==
===Settlement===
Isaac Gould and Joseph Gardner were the first permanent settlers in modern-day Jenkins Township. The first important settlement in the territory was Joseph Gardner's [[gristmill]] in 1794 (on [[Gardner Creek (Mill Creek tributary)|Gardner's Creek]]). The first schoolhouse was built in the early 1810s. Jenkins Township was formed from a section of [[Pittston Township, Pennsylvania|Pittston Township]] on June 24, 1852.<ref name="Jenkins Township">{{Cite web | url=http://www.pagenweb.org/~luzerne/patk/jenkinstwp.htm | title=Jenkins Township }}</ref> It was named after Col. John Jenkins<ref>[https://archive.org/details/historyofluzerne00brad History of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, with Biographical Selections], by Bradsby, Henry C., ed, 1893, Publisher: Chicago, S. B. Nelson, page [https://archive.org/stream/historyofluzerne00brad#page/588/mode/2up 589]</ref> (who settled the area with his family in 1769).<ref>Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600-1889, Vol III: Grinnell - Lockwood, page 426</ref> He served as an officer in the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]] (1775-1782), and as a Representative of Luzerne County in the [[Pennsylvania Legislature]] (elected in 1797).<ref>News Article: LEDGER-PHILADELPHIA, Thu November 27, 1924 "Pennsylvanians - Past and Present: Colonel John Jenkins, Officer of the Revolution" By F. A. Godcharles</ref>

===Coal mining===
{{main|Knox Mine Disaster}} 
[[Logging]] and [[farming]] were the first major employers in the region, but due to the abundance of [[anthracite coal]] under the township, the [[coal mining]] industry quickly expanded. [[Port Griffith, Pennsylvania|Port Griffith]] was named in honor of one of the original stockholders of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. Other villages in the township (e.g., Port Blanchard, [[Inkerman, Pennsylvania|Inkerman]], and Sebastopol) also played an important role in the mining industry.<ref name="Jenkins Township"/> On January 22, 1959, the [[Knox Mine Disaster]] in Port Griffith, Jenkins Township, claimed the lives of 12 people and essentially shut down the mining industry in [[Northeastern Pennsylvania]].<ref name=um>{{cite web |url=http://www.undergroundminers.com/knox.html |title=Knox Mine Disaster |date=2005 |access-date=December 29, 2016 |author=Chris Murley |archive-date=December 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230160002/http://www.undergroundminers.com/knox.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Contemporary history===
The coal companies left behind a scarred landscape (e.g., [[Spoil tip|culm banks]]) when they pulled out of the region. Today, Jenkins Township's economy is composed of an expanding [[warehouse|warehousing]] industry. 
 
On September 25, 1982, [[George Banks (spree killer)|George Banks]] killed thirteen people in a [[shooting]] [[Spree killer|rampage]] in Jenkins Township and [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre City]].<ref>{{cite news | last =Robbins | first =William  | title =Gunman Kills 13 in a Pennsylvania Rampage | newspaper =[[The New York Times]] | date =September 26, 1982 | url =https://www.nytimes.com/1982/09/26/world/gunman-kills-13-in-a-pennsylvania-rampage.html | access-date =March 3, 2018 }}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:PortGriffith2.jpeg|thumb|left|[[Port Griffith, Pennsylvania|Port Griffith]], Jenkins Township]]
[[File:Pittston City.jpg|thumb|An aerial view of [[Greater Pittston]]; Jenkins Township is visible near the middle (left of the Susquehanna River).]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the township has a total area of {{convert|36.2|km2|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|35.5|km2|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|0.7|km2|disp=flip}}, or 2.06%, is water. The township is served by the [[Pittston Area School District]]. It is drained by the [[Susquehanna River]], which separates it from [[Wyoming, Pennsylvania|Wyoming]] and [[Exeter, Pennsylvania|Exeter]]. The Eighth Street Bridge links Jenkins Township to Wyoming. The township's villages include Ewen, [[Inkerman, Pennsylvania|Inkerman]], [[Old Boston, Pennsylvania|Old Boston]], Port Blanchard, [[Port Griffith, Pennsylvania|Port Griffith]], and Sebastopol.

Jenkins Township can be divided into two separate regions (connected by a small strip of land). The northwestern portion of the township borders the Susquehanna River; it is mostly made up of homes and businesses. There is a small strip of land connecting the northwestern portion of the township to the southeastern region of the township. This small strip is less than a quarter of a mile wide and is flanked by the [[Yatesville, Pennsylvania|Borough of Yatesville]] (to the north) and the [[Laflin, Pennsylvania|Borough of Laflin]] (to the south). The southeastern region of Jenkins is the largest by total area. [[Interstate 81 (Pennsylvania)|I-81]], [[Interstate 476 (Pennsylvania)|I-476]], and [[Pennsylvania Route 315|PA 315]] travel through this section of the municipality; there are a few neighborhoods and [[warehouses]] located near these highways. Thick forests make up the very southeastern section of the township.

===Neighboring municipalities===
*[[Bear Creek Township, Pennsylvania|Bear Creek Township]] (south)
*[[Plains Township, Pennsylvania|Plains Township]] (southwest)
*[[Laflin, Pennsylvania|Laflin]] (southwest)
*[[Wyoming, Pennsylvania|Wyoming]] (west)
*[[Exeter, Pennsylvania|Exeter]] (northwest)
*[[Pittston, Pennsylvania|Pittston]] (north)
*[[Yatesville, Pennsylvania|Yatesville]] (northeast)
*[[Pittston Township, Pennsylvania|Pittston Township]] (northeast)
*[[Spring Brook Township, Pennsylvania|Spring Brook Township, Lackawanna County]] (east)
*[[Thornhurst Township, Pennsylvania|Thornhurst Township, Lackawanna County]] (southeast)

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|2000= 4584
|2010= 4442
|2020= 4282
|estyear=2021
|estimate=4337
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021"/>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|newspaper=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2016}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 4,584 people, 1,715 households, and 1,166 families residing in the township.  The population density was {{convert|337.4|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 1,843 housing units at an average density of {{convert|135.7|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The racial makeup of the township was 98.97% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.26% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.07% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.15% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.02% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.07% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.46% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.50% of the population.

There were 1,715 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.  The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the township the population was spread out, with 20.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.6% who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.4 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.4 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $39,103, and the median income for a family was $46,673. Males had a median income of $36,212 versus $23,534 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the township was $19,693.  About 5.7% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 11.7% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
<gallery mode=packed heights=200>
Jenkins TWP soccer field LuzCo PA.jpg|Soccer field in Jenkins Township  
House in Jenkins TWP LuzCo PA.jpg|A house near the soccer field 
Inkerman PA Presby.jpg|[[Inkerman, Pennsylvania|Inkerman]] Presbyterian Church 
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|jenkinstownship.net}}

{{Luzerne County, Pennsylvania}}

{{coord|41|17|00|N|75|44|29|W|type:city_region:US-PA_source:GNIS-enwiki|display=title}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Townships in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Townships in Pennsylvania]]