Editing Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania

{{short description|Borough in Pennsylvania, US}}
{{for|other places in Pennsylvania with similar names|Mahanoy (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox settlement
| native_name        = 
| other_name         = 
| settlement_type    = [[Borough (Pennsylvania)|Borough]]
| image_skyline      = Mahanoy City.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, October 2009
| image_flag         = 
| flag_size          = 
| image_seal         = 
| seal_size          = 
| image_shield       = 
| shield_size        = 
| image_blank_emblem = 
| blank_emblem_size  = 
| nickname           = 
| motto              = <!-- images and maps ----------->
| pushpin_map        = Pennsylvania#USA
| pushpin_label      = Mahanoy City
| pushpin_label_position = left<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_mapsize    = <!-- Location ------------------>
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Pennsylvania
| coordinates        = {{coord|40|48|45|N|76|08|28|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Pennsylvania|County]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Pennsylvania]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania|Schuylkill]]
| established_title  = Settled
| established_date   = 1859
| established_title1 = Incorporated
| established_date1  = December 16, 1863
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = Home Rule Charter
| leader_title       = Borough Manager
| leader_name        = John Fatula
| leader_title1      = Council President
| leader_name1       = Michael Connolly
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="TigerWebMapServer">{{cite web|title=ArcGIS REST Services Directory|url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/5/query?where=STATE='42'&outFields=NAME,STATE,PLACE,AREALAND,AREAWATER,LSADC,CENTLAT,CENTLON&orderByFields=PLACE&returnGeometry=false&returnTrueCurves=false&f=json|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 12, 2022}}</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 1.32
| area_total_sq_mi   = 0.51
| area_land_km2      = 1.32
| area_land_sq_mi    = 0.51
| area_water_km2     = 0.00
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.00
| area_water_percent = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = 1240
| population_total   = 3499
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly"/>
| population_density_km2 = 2650.51
| population_density_sq_mi = 6860.78
| population_note    = 
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]
| postal_code        = 17948
| area_code          = [[Area code 570|570]]
| website            = [http://www.mahanoycity.us/ Mahanoy City]
| footnotes          = 
| timezone           = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
| utc_offset         = -5
| timezone_DST       = EDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -4
| pop_est_as_of      = 
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| population_est     = 
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 42-46592
| image_map          = File:Schuylkill County Pennsylvania Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Mahanoy City Highlighted.svg
| map_caption        = Location of Mahanoy City in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
| name               = 
}}
'''Mahanoy City''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɑː|ˌ|h|ɑː|n|ɔɪ}} {{respell|MAH|hah|noy}}) is a [[borough (Pennsylvania)|borough]] located {{convert|38|mi|km}} southwest of [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania|Wilkes-Barre]] and 13 miles southwest of [[Hazleton, Pennsylvania|Hazleton]], in northern [[Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania]], United States. It is part of the [[Coal Region]] of [[Pennsylvania]] and is surrounded by (but not part of) [[Mahanoy Township, Pennsylvania|Mahanoy Township]].

The name Mahanoy<ref group=Notes name=pron>Known to be pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɒ|h|ɒ|n|ɔɪ}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɒ|(|h|ɒ|)|n|ɔɪ}} in the 21st century;<!--verifiable in regional newscasts on YouTube--> known to have been pronounced both that way and {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɒ|k|ə|n|ɔɪ}} by [[Coal Region]] natives in the 19th and 20th centuries,<!--e.g., Lindenmuth WG (M.T.H.S. 1939) 1967-10-03, Record-American, p. 8; McKeever 1995:9; White 2016-07-28, Morning Call, p. A23;--> although the latter pronunciation may now be waning and may now in some cases be a hypercorrection by people who take pride in knowing it as a [[shibboleth]].</ref> is believed to be a variation of the [[Delaware languages|Delaware]] word {{lang|del|Maghonioy}}, or "the salt deposits".<ref>{{Citation|publisher = Mahanoy Area Historical Society|url = http://www.mahanoyhistory.org/history.html|title = History of Mahanoy City: Written in 1933-34|date = 1933–1934|access-date = January 21, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Mahanoy Area Historical Society|title=Mahanoy Area|date=2004|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9781439632123|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=27VQlY2W824C&pg=PT5|access-date=27 February 2018|chapter=Introduction}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Area History: A Centennial History - Mahanoy City|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/schuylkill/history/local/mahanoycity/chap3.txt|website=USGenWeb Archives|access-date=27 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826055535/http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/schuylkill/history/local/mahanoycity/chap3.txt|archive-date=26 August 2016|quote=The original spelling of the word is "Maghonioy".  The authority for this is the deed,  executed August 22, 1749, by representatives of the Six Nations and the Delaware, Shamokin  and Shawnee Indians of Pennsylvania, who transferred a tract of land to the Provincial  proprietaries for 500 pounds "lawful money of Pennsylvania".}}</ref>

==History==
Mahanoy City, originally a part of Mahanoy township, was settled in 1859 and incorporated as a borough by decree of the Court of Quarter Sessions of Schuylkill County on December 16, 1863.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}} It was served by branches of the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad|Lehigh Valley]] and the [[Philadelphia & Reading Railroad|Philadelphia & Reading]] railways.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

Mahanoy City lies in a valley in the Pennsylvania Coal Region and was a major center of [[anthracite]] production; the area was embroiled in the [[Molly Maguires]] incidents.<ref name=grapple /><ref>{{cite news |last=Bulik |first=Mark |date=1998-07-04 |title=Dark Days of Mayhem Finally Emerge In the Light |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/04/us/dark-days-of-mayhem-finally-emerge-in-the-light.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=2019-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131041306/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/04/us/dark-days-of-mayhem-finally-emerge-in-the-light.html |archive-date=2018-01-31 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Kent |date=2018-07-02 |title='The Molly Maguires' Real Story Still Attracts Interest |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/pennsylvania/articles/2018-06-30/the-molly-maguires-real-story-still-attracts-interest |agency=Associated Press |work=Republican Herald |location=Pottsville, Pennsylvania |access-date=2019-05-19 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104012901/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/pennsylvania/articles/2018-06-30/the-molly-maguires-real-story-still-attracts-interest |archive-date=2019-01-04}}</ref> In 2010, the borough erected the Molly Maguire Historic Park, which features a [[Zenos Frudakis]] statue of a hooded miner on a [[gallows]] about to be hanged.<ref>{{cite news |last=Usalis |first=John E.|date=2010-05-21 |title=Molly Maguires story echoes through new Mahanoy City statue |url=https://www.republicanherald.com/news/molly-maguires-story-echoes-through-new-mahanoy-city-statue-1.800170 |work=Republican Herald |location=Pottsville, Pennsylvania |access-date=2019-05-19 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140922005229/https://www.republicanherald.com/news/molly-maguires-story-echoes-through-new-mahanoy-city-statue-1.800170 |archive-date=2014-09-22}}</ref>

The borough's principal industries remain the mining and shipping of coal, although the demand for it has steadily declined since its peak in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1930 the [[St. Nicholas Breaker|St. Nicholas Coal Breaker]] was built and went into operation in 1932. A controlled explosion destroyed the breaker in March 2018.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pennsylvania-s-last-massive-coal-breaker-comes-down-ending-an-era-20180316-story.html|title=Pennsylvania's last massive coal breaker comes down, ending an era|newspaper=The Morning Call|location=Allentown, PA|date=19 March 2018|first=Michael|last=Rubinkam|agency=Associated Press|access-date=30 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331040403/http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pennsylvania-s-last-massive-coal-breaker-comes-down-ending-an-era-20180316-story.html|archive-date=31 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=grapple>{{cite web | title =Mahanoy City, The End of Coal Country | work =Grapple | publisher =Keystone Crossroads | url =https://grapplepodcast.atavist.com/episode01-mahanoy-city- | access-date =November 17, 2016 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20161117211920/https://grapplepodcast.atavist.com/episode01-mahanoy-city- | archive-date =November 17, 2016 | url-status =live }}</ref>{{external media | width = 210px | headerimage = [[File:St nicholas exterior.jpg|210px]] [[St. Nicholas Coal Breaker]] in 2007 | audio1 = [https://grapplepodcast.atavist.com/episode01-mahanoy-city- Mahanoy City, The End of Coal Country], 36:23, Grapple, Keystone Crossroads}}

[[Fire clay]] abounds locally. The manufacturing of shirts, bedding and foundry products is also fairly prominent.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}

In 1948, Mahanoy City became the first municipality in the country to have [[cable TV]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Mayer |first=Mary Alice |date=21 July 1970 |title=Oral history interview with Cable Television Pioneer John Walson |url=https://syndeoinstitute.org/the-hauser-oral-history-project/w-z-listings/john-walson-program-penn-state-collection/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411015206/http://cablecenter.org/w-z-listings/john-walson-program-penn-state-collection.html |archive-date=11 April 2016 |access-date=12 July 2024 |website=Syndeo Institute at The Cable Center |publisher=The Cable Center, Barco Library}}</ref>

==Geography==
Mahanoy City is located at {{coord|40|48|45|N|76|8|25|W|type:city}} (40.812413, -76.140223),<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824085937/https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|archive-date=2019-08-24|url-status=live}}</ref> with [[PA 54]] as a main thoroughfare and through road, serving as a main street named Centre Street. To the west it connects to [[Shenandoah, PA|Shenandoah]] thence to the [[Susquehanna Valley]] and to the east reaches through several unincorporated villages then passes through [[Barnesville, Pennsylvania|Barnesville]] as Pine Creek Dr. and then serves [[Hometown, PA|Hometown]] as a main road, intersecting [[Pennsylvania Route 309|PA 309]] (N-S) before passing into [[Tamaqua, Pennsylvania|Tamaqua]] and [[Nesquehoning, PA|Nesquehoning]]. The borough is situated in the valley of [[Mahanoy Creek]], approximately {{convert|4|miles}} southeast of Shenandoah and {{convert|11|miles}} west-northwest of [[Tamaqua, Pennsylvania|Tamaqua]], both of which are reached via Route 54. Mahanoy City lies at an elevation of {{convert|1240|feet}} above sea level; Broad Mountain ({{convert|1795|ft}}), a ridge extending through Schuylkill County, overlooks it on the southeast.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the borough has a total area of {{convert|0.5|sqmi|km2}}, all land. It has a warm-summer [[humid continental climate]] (''Dfb'') and average temperatures range from 24.3&nbsp;°F in January to 69.3&nbsp;°F in July.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/ | title=PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University }}</ref> The [[hardiness zone]] is borderline between 5b and 6a, meaning that the approximate average annual absolute minimum temperature is -10&nbsp;°F.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/InteractiveMap.aspx | title=2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map &#124; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1870= 5533
|1880= 7181
|1890= 11286
|1900= 13504
|1910= 15936
|1920= 15599
|1930= 14784
|1940= 13442
|1950= 10934
|1960= 8536
|1970= 7257
|1980= 6167
|1990= 5209
|2000= 4647
|2010= 4162
|2020= 3511
|estyear=2021
|estimate=3513
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2020-2021">{{cite web |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 1, 2022}}</ref>
|footnote=Sources:<ref name="USDecennialCensus">{{cite web|title=Census of Population and Housing|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=11 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426102944/http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|archive-date=26 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961227012639/http://www.census.gov/|archive-date=1996-12-27|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=CensusPopEst>{{cite web|title=Incorporated Places and Minor Civil Divisions Datasets: Subcounty Resident Population Estimates: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2012|url=https://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|work=Population Estimates|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=11 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130611010502/http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2012/SUB-EST2012.html|archive-date=11 June 2013}}</ref><ref name="USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly">{{cite web|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=P1_001N,NAME&for=place:*&in=state:42&key=5ccd0821c15d9f4520e2dcc0f8d92b2ec9336108|title=Census Population API|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=Oct 12, 2022}}</ref>
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 4,647 people, 2,113 households, and 1,210 families residing in the borough. The population density was {{convert|9,060.8|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 2,595 housing units at an average density of {{convert|5,059.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the borough was 98.79% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.22% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.09% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.22% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.22% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.47% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 1.29% of the population.

There were 2,113 households, out of which 22.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. 39.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.3% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 26.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $24,347, and the median income for a family was $32,033. Males had a median income of $29,628 versus $20,288 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the borough was $14,369. About 12.6% of families and 17.4% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 22.3% of those under age 18 and 20.9% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
[[Mahanoy Area School District]] serves the borough and includes an elementary, middle school, and high school complex for students.

==Notable people==
* [[Joe Boley]] (1896–1962), baseball player
* [[Joe Dugan]] (1897–1982), baseball player
* [[David Huebner]] (born 1960), ambassador
* [[Joseph Edward Kurtz]] (born 1946), archbishop
*[[Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.|Brandi Levy]] (born 2001) litigant before the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]
* [[Paul Marks (scientist)|Paul Marks]] (1926–2020), oncologist
* [[Jack McCloskey]] (1925–2017), basketball player and coach
* [[John P. Morris]] (1926–2002), trade unionist
* [[Ron Northey]] (1920–1971), baseball player
* [[James J. Rhoades]] (1941–2008), politician
* [[Kevin C. Rhoades]] (born 1957), bishop
* [[Mike Rhoades]] (born 1972), basketball coach
* [[Victor Schertzinger]] (1890–1941), composer, film director, producer and screenwriter
* [[George Senesky]] (1922–2001), basketball player and coach
* [[John Walson]], (1915–1993), inventor

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=Notes}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania}}
* [http://mahanoyhistory.org Mahanoy Area Historical Society Official Site]
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Mahanoy City|short=x}}

{{Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania}}
{{PA Home Rule Municipality}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Populated places established in 1859]]
[[Category:Municipalities of the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Boroughs in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Coal towns in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:1863 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Pennsylvania placenames of Native American origin]]