[edit] History

The borough is named after the Mount Carmel Inn which was itself named for Mount Carmel in Israel. The inn was opened in 1812 by Richard Yarnall and was strategically located on the Centre Turnpike (also known as the Reading-Sunbury Road) halfway between Pottsville and Danville. The township was erected in 1855, 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.

before 1770 - Area inhabited by Native Americans (possibly Lenape, Iroquois, and/or Saponi)
1770 - Europeans first settled in the area
1772 - Northumberland county formed, area that would become Mt. Carmel located in what was then Augusta township
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
1805 - 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 laid out
1854 November 14 - Mount Carmel Township incorporated, from part of Coal township
1855 - first church, the Evangelical Grace Church opens
1855 - Centre Turnpike abandoned
1862 November 3 - Mt. Carmel Borough Incorporated
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

[edit] General Information

ZIP Code: 17851
Area code: 570
Local phone code: 339

[edit] Geography

Image:MountCarmelPAsatellitephotoUSGS.gif

Mount Carmel is located at 40°47′47″N, 76°24′44″W (40.796447, -76.412231)^GR1 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 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania Population by year
1862 - <1,000 1870 - 1,289 1890 - 8,345 1896 - 10,000 1900 - 13,719 1910 - 17,532 1920 - 17,469 1930 - 17,967 1940 - 17,780 1950 - ~14,000 1960 - 10,780 1970 - 9,317 1985 - 7,750 1990 - 7,196 1995 - 6,851 2000 - 6,390 2005 - 6,053 ([2])

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 6,390 people, 3,035 households, and 1,678 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,738.2/km² (9,655.6/mi²). There were 3,629 housing units at an average density of 2,123.0/km² (5,483.6/mi²). 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.

[edit] Transportation

[edit] Highways

Pennsylvania Route 61 (old U.S. Route 122, previously U.S. Route 120)
Pennsylvania Route 54
Pennsylvania Route 901

[edit] Railroads (all defunct)

Danville and Pottsville railroad
Quakake Railroad -> Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad (Lehigh Valley Railroad)
Shamokin Valley and Pottsville Railroad (Northern Central Railway)
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad (Reading Company)

[edit] External links

Joseph K. Bass, Borough Manager's Home Page
Mayor J. Kevin Jones' Webpage
Welcome to Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania - by Jeff Kanezo, includes a Walking Tour
Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, and its Trentini-Tirolean community - Information and history from Dale Dallabrida, including "A portrait of Mount Carmel, 1896"
City of Churches

Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.796447° -76.412231°
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

Image:Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northumberland County.svg	Municipalities and Communities of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania (County Seat: Sunbury)
Cities	Shamokin \| Sunbury
Boroughs	Herndon \| Kulpmont \| Marion Heights \| McEwensville \| Milton \| Mount Carmel \| Northumberland \| Riverside \| Snydertown \| Turbotville \| Watsontown
Townships	Coal \| Delaware \| East Cameron \| East Chillisquaque \| Jackson \| Jordan \| Lewis \| Little Mahanoy \| Lower Augusta \| Lower Mahanoy \| Mount Carmel \| Point \| Ralpho \| Rockefeller \| Rush \| Shamokin \| Turbot \| Upper Augusta \| Upper Mahanoy \| Washington \| West Cameron \| West Chillisquaque \| Zerbe
Communities and CDPs	Edgewood \| Elysburg \| Fairview-Ferndale \| Marshallton \| Trevorton