Pike County, Pennsylvania

Pike County is a located in the  of. As of, the population is 46,302. Its is. Pike County is considered the most western edge of the area surrounding. Pike County is the fastest-growing county in the state of.

History
Pike County, created on March 26, from part of, , was named for General. , the county seat, was incorporated in 1874 and named for of.

At the time of European contact, the inhabitants were the, later known as the. The first European to visit to the region was Captain in, sent by Governor  of the colony of  to determine whether the French were trying to enlist the Indians against the English. In, governor Fletcher authorized a number of citizens of to buy land from the Indians near New York. Descendants of those settlers became the first Europeans to settle in Pike County.

Early settlers included Nicholas Depui in, Thomas Quick, who settled on the site of Milford in , and Andrew Dingman in 1735, at what would become. Settlers had good relations with the Indians at first; but as more settlers moved into the area, land disputes developed. The famous of  took in more than half of the present day Pike County and led to violence.

In the early, was discovered nearby in the area of present-day , but an economical means of transporting the coal to  was needed. A combination of a gravity railroad from Carbondale to, and from Honesdale to New York was proposed. In the state of New York approved the building of the, a 108-mile (174 km) waterway between Honesdale and the  terminus near present day. Work on the canal began in and was completed in. The canal system proved profitable except where the barges crossed the Delaware. proposed running the canal right over the river on an innovative /, built in ; the suspension design called for only three piers (instead of the normal five), which allowed more room for s and s to pass underneath. Three other suspension aqueducts were built for the canal.

The canal and aqueduct carried coal boats over the Delaware for the next fifty-one years. Then new proved cheaper and had the advantage of running in the winter when the canal froze over. By the canal was abandoned. Roebling's Delaware Aqueduct, possibly the oldest suspension bridge in America, is a.

In, the built a dam on Wallenpaupack creek at  for an electric generating plant. Construction of the dam required a crew of 2,700 men and took two years to complete at a cost of $1,026,000. Nearly a hundred landowners were bought out and farms, barns, and homes were razed or moved along with 17 miles (27 km) of roads and telephone lines and a. This project created the largest artificial lake in Pennsylvania,.

Pike County had the fastest population growth of any Pennsylvania county between 1990 and 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, the county grew by 65.2%, and between 2000 and 2004, it grew 16.9%. Local leaders attribute the trend to the relatively low state and county taxes, affordable housing, and the ease of commute to New York City's northern suburbs via and.

The current Pike County Commissioners, all successfully reelected in 2007, are Chairman Harry Forbes (R), Vice-Chairman Richard Caridi (R), and Commissioner Karl A. Wagner, JR (D).

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 1,468 (567 ). 1,416 km² (547 sq mi) of it is land and 51 km² (20 sq mi) of it (3.50%) is water.

The terrain rises rapidly from the river valley in the east to the rolling foothills of the in the west. The highest point is one of two unnamed hills in Greene Township that top out at approximately 2,110 (643 ) above sea level. The lowest elevation is approximately 340 feet (103.6 m), at the confluence of the Bushkill and the Delaware.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (southwest)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 46,302 people, 17,433 households, and 13,022 families residing in the county. The was 33/km² (85/sq mi). There were 34,681 housing units at an average density of 24/km² (63/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 93.10%, 3.27% or , 0.24% , 0.62% , 0.01% , 1.30% from , and 1.47% from two or more races. 5.00% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 17,433 households out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.50% were living together, 7.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.30% were non-families. 20.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county, the population was spread out with 26.70% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 25.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.30 males.

Politics
As of, there are 41,872 registered voters in Pike County.


 * : 14,389 (34.36%)
 * : 19,606 (46.82%)
 * Other Parties: 7,877 (18.81%)

Municipalities
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities:, , townships, and, in at most two cases,. The following boroughs and townships are located in Pike County:

Public School Districts

 * (also in Monroe County)
 * (also in Wayne County)
 * (also in Wayne County)

Recreation
There is one in Pike County.