Lansford, Pennsylvania

Lansford is a borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, located 27 mi northwest of Allentown and 9 miles south of Hazleton. Settled in 1845, Lansford was incorporated in 1876. In 1900, 4,888 people lived in Lansford; in 1910, 8,321 people inhabited it, and in 1940, 8,710 residents called Lansford home. The population was 4,230 at the 2000 census. Lansford grew with the development of local anthracite coal mines. Lansford was named after Asa Lansford Foster who was an advocate for merging the small "patch towns" that developed in the area surrounding the anthracite coal mines.

Lansford's first school was opened in 1847 on Abbott Street. Lansford's first church, the Welsh Congregational was built in 1850 and still stands today on West Abbott Street.

The old No. 9 Mine and Museum in Lansford, a deep mine which operated from 1855 to 1972, is now open as a tourist attraction offering tours of the mine and a wealth of information on local mining history. A museum occupying the mine's former Wash Shanty building on the site displays a large collection of mining artifacts. One of the local mine bosses, John P. Jones, was murdered in Lansford, reportedly in connection with labor union strife, attributed to members of a secret society known as the Molly Maguires, many of whom were put on trial and hanged in Carbon and Schuylkill Counties during the mid- to late 1870s.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.6 sqmi, all of it land. Lansford is 1 mile north of Summit Hill, and 10 miles west of Lehighton and 5 miles northeast of Tamaqua. Lansford's elevation is 1145 feet above sea level.

Ron Hood is the Mayor of Lansford and is assisted by a council. The town also has a fire department, police force, and ambulance corporation.

Lansford is part of the Panther Valley School District and home of their newly remodeled football stadium and walking track.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,230 people, 1,878 households, and 1,098 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,710.0 people per square mile (1,046.9/km²). There were 2,228 housing units at an average density of 1,427.4 per square mile (551.4/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 98.18% White, 0.35% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.28% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.42% of the population.

There were 1,878 households out of which 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the borough the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 19.1% from 45 to 64, and 25.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 84.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.2 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $27,478, and the median income for a family was $37,773. Males had a median income of $30,405 versus $22,255 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $14,347. About 10.9% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.5% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over.

Media
WLSH, a 5,000 watt station at 1410 on the AM dial with an Oldies format, signed-on December 24, 1952. The call letters stand for Lansford and neighboring Summit Hill.

Notable people

 * Benjamin Bloom, educational psychologist known for the Bloom's Taxonomy hierarchy of learning model.
 * Jimmy Dorsey, big band leader.
 * Tommy Dorsey, big band leader.
 * Richard Marcinko, founder of SEAL Team SIX and Red Cell and co-author, Rogue Warrior.