Ashland, Pennsylvania

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Not to be confused with Ashland Township in Clarion County.
Ashland, Pennsylvania
Borough
View of Ashland
View of Ashland
Ashland is located in Pennsylvania
Ashland
Ashland
Location in Pennsylvania
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
Counties Schuylkill / Columbia
Settled 1820
Laid out 1847
Incorporated 1857
Government
 • Type Borough Council
 • Mayor Dennis Kane
Area
 • Total 1.7 sq mi (4.3 km2)
 • Land 1.7 sq mi (4.3 km2)
 • Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation 980 ft (300 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 2,817
 • Density 1,699/sq mi (656.0/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 17921
Area code(s) 570 Exchange: 875
Website www.ashlandborough.com

Ashland is a borough in Schuylkill County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Pottsville. A small part of the borough also lies in Columbia County, although all of the population resided in the Schuylkill County portion as of the 2010 census. The borough lies in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania. Settled in 1850, Ashland was incorporated in 1857, and was named for Henry Clay's estate near Lexington, Kentucky. The population in 1900 was 6,438, and in 1940, 7,045, but had dropped to 2,817 at the 2010 census.[1]

Ashland is part of the Pottsville Micropolitan Statistical Area.

It is the location of Pioneer Tunnel, a tourist attraction featuring a tour of a coal mine on mine cars and a separate 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge steam train ride.[2][3]

History

For a long time after the southern part of Pennsylvania was settled, the area that is now Ashland was mostly wilderness except for a hotel that was in the area in 1820. Despite this, a prominent citizen of the county, Burd S. Patterson, predicted that the area would eventually become a prominent mining town. In 1845, John P. Brock and James Hart joined Patterson in buying 800 acres (320 ha) of land in the Ashland area. In 1846, a group of miners led by Patrick Devine developed coal seams in veins in the area. However, the town progressed little over the next three years. By 1857, though, the town had 3,500 people, and Ashland became a borough, detaching itself from Butler Township. The first post office was built in 1853, and the first church was built in 1855.[4]

The Mothers' Memorial is located at the junction of Pennsylvania Route 54 and Pennsylvania Route 61. The Mothers' Memorial is a bronze reproduction of the famous James Abbott McNeill Whistler artistic painting: An Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, commonly known as "Whistler's Mother". The WPA-Built Mothers' Memorial honors all mothers of the United States and it's the only one of its kind in the world.[5] The Mothers' Memorial was commissioned and erected during the misery of the Great Depression in the United States by the Ashland Boys' Association and it was dedicated on Sunday, September 4, 1938, during Labor Day weekend. President Franklin D. Roosevelt economic recovery plan of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) completed the historical stone masonry work.[6]

The Ashland Boys' Association was an inspirational story of former residents of Ashland who had to leave town for work when the anthracite mining failed in the late 1800s. Ashland men returned home every Labor Day weekend for little more than a century to visit the old hometown and march in the grand Ashland Boys' Association Mummers' Parade. This unique show of attachment to family, friends, and comforts of home erected the WPA-built Mothers' Memorial statue that became the Ashland Boys' Association's legacy - An American Icon and a symbol of motherhood in the United States. The Ashland Boys' Association was honored with a State Historical Marker (-76.33721, 40.78368) by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission on August 31, 2013.[7]

Goyne Brothers was a family owned firm that came into existence in 1881. Goyne Brothers which later changed the name in 1903 to Goyne Steam Pump Company were manufacturers of general mining machinery, and in 1883, they determined to make the manufacture of mining pumps as a specialty.[8] The Goyne Steam Pump Company in 1911, became known as one of the most substantial exclusive mine pump manufacturing plants in the United States.[8] The importance of coal mining drainage launched out mine pumpers exclusively and the Goyne Steam Pump Company invented, engineered, manufactured, and sold over 250 different mining pump designs and sizes, ranging from single pump up to the largest compound condensing duplex machines practicable for mining purposes throughout the anthracite and bituminous coal region's of Pennsylvania, and the United States.[9][10] The Goyne Steam Pump Company changed the name to Goyne Pump Company in 1955, and the company was purchased in 1979 by Goulds Pumps.

The Ashland Greens were an independent basketball franchise in Ashland. The Ashland Greens played the Boston Celtics in the Ashland High School Gymnasium. The team was owned by Green's Dairy.

Pennsylvania Route 61 takes an unexplained detour just north of Ashland, where a "Keep Out" sign straddles the original highway that used to lead to the abandoned town of Centralia, where an underground mine fire has been burning since 1962.

Points of Interest

  • Mothers’ Memorial (Whistler’s Mother Statue) – N. Hoffman Blvd.
  • Ashland Boys’ Association Pennsylvania Historical Marker – N. Hoffman Blvd.
  • Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine and Steam Train – 19th and Oak Streets
  • Ashland Area Historic Preservation Society Museum – 316-318 W. Centre Street
  • Station House – S. 5th and Chestnut Streets
  • Dr. J. L. Hoffman Memorial – S. Hoffman Blvd. and Spruce Street
  • The Museum of Anthracite Mining – S. 19th Street (Adjacent from Pioneer Tunnel)
  • Military Veterans Monument – N. Hoffman Blvd. and Centre Street
  • World War I Cannon – S. 5th and Chestnut Streets
  • Washington Fire Company Historic Bell Tower/Fog Horn – 1307 Centre Street
  • Ashland Town Clock – 5th and Centre Streets

Geography

File:Ashland PA 1st Presby PHS021.jpg
The former First Presbyterian Church, now known as the Methodist Presbyterian Church

Ashland is located along the northern boundary of Schuylkill County at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (40.781587, -76.344426).[11] A small portion of the borough, comprising less than 1% of its area, extends north into Columbia County. Butler Township of Schuylkill County borders Ashland to the east, south, and west, while Conyngham Township of Columbia County borders the borough to the north. According to the United States Census Bureau, Ashland has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.3 km2), all land.[1]

Ashland is served by Pennsylvania Route 54 and Pennsylvania Route 61. PA 54 leads east-northeast 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to Girardville and 9 miles (14 km) to Shenandoah, and northwest 16 miles (26 km) to Elysburg. PA 61 leads north 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to Centralia and then west 4 miles (6 km) farther to Mount Carmel, and east 7 miles (11 km) to Frackville. The two highways share Centre Street, the main street through Ashland.

The majority of Ashland is forest, with an urban area in the center. Most of the borough's terrain is steep hills, but the hills are gentler near the center. The southern border of the borough follows the top of Ashland Mountain, which rises 400 to 600 feet (120 to 180 m) above the center of town, except where Mahanoy Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River, passes through a water gap in the mountain in the southeast part of the borough.[12]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1850 224 —
1860 3,880 1,632.1%
1870 5,714 47.3%
1880 6,052 5.9%
1890 7,346 21.4%
1900 6,438 −12.4%
1910 6,855 6.5%
1920 6,686 −2.5%
1930 7,164 7.1%
1940 7,045 −1.7%
1950 6,192 −12.1%
1960 5,237 −15.4%
1970 4,737 −9.5%
1980 4,235 −10.6%
1990 3,859 −8.9%
2000 3,283 −14.9%
2010 2,817 −14.2%
Est. 2014 2,757 [13] −2.1%
Sources:[14][15]

As of the census of 2000,[16] there were 3,283 people, 1,437 households, and 863 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,886 people per square mile (728.5/km²). There were 1,724 housing units at an average density of 990.4 per square mile (382.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.39% White, 0.21% African American, 0.09% Asian, 0.06% from other races, and 0.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.09% of the population.

There were 1,437 households, out of which 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $27,234, and the median income for a family was $34,688. Males had a median income of $30,500 versus $20,920 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $15,036. About 11.1% of families and 12.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

All residents of Ashland attend North Schuylkill School District, located at 1 Academy Lane in the borough. This district includes one elementary school building (K-6) and one upper campus high school (7-12).

Notable people

References

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External links

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