History of Nescopeck Township

History of Nescopeck Township. . , In 1681 the King of England granted the land, that is presently Pennsylvania, to William Penn and his family. Although this transaction had occurred, settlers from areas of Connecticut established many land claims in the Northeast portion of William Penn's property, including portions of what is now Nescopeck Township. Between that time and 1786 when the first settler, George Walker, settled along the Nescopeck Creek, settlers, Native Americans and Connecticut Settlement people had frequent disputes which at times were quite violent. It was not until 1786 when the Connecticut settlers agreed to a Congressional treaty giving the land to the Penn family. At about this same time a road was laid out that extended from the mouth of the Nescopeck Creek to the Lehigh River. Thereafter many settlers began to arrive in the area. At the same time Luzerne County was organized by being separated from Northumberland County. In 1792 Nescopeck Township was then separated from Newport Township. Originally it consisted of a very large area including what is now Hollenback, Sugarloaf, Butler, Hazel and Black Creek townships as well as Nescopeck Borough which was not incorporated until 1896., With the establishment of the road and erection of several mills along the creek, many settlers arrived from a number of countries. Beside the mills, agriculture became an important part of the culture. The first church was built in 1811 by the Lutheran and German Reformed members along the main road. Later two Post Offices, several hotels and other churches were constructed as the population grew., After a railroad, which went from Nescopeck to Hazelton, was built and a variety of employment opportunities were created in adjacent communities, the population of the Township grew rapidly. However, since the land was mostly woodlands or farmland, little industrial growth occurred within the Township. As time went on, all the hotels, post offices and one room school houses all closed., Today, there are three churches in the Township, representing three different denominations. There is one service station, several farm markets, one miniature golf course and recreation center, several small engine repair facilities, commercial greenhouses and a large facility where country décor items can be purchased. The remainder of the land is either residential or agricultural where dairy and beef cattle, poultry and vegetables are raised. There is also an active volunteer fire company with a social hall used for all types of local and regional events., The present size of the Township is 18.8 square miles with only 0.7 square miles being water. As of 2007 the population was estimated to be 1,102 which is almost the same as found in the 2000 census demonstrating that very little population growth is occurring. The median age of the citizens of the Township is 40, which shows that there is a high percentage of senior citizens living in the area. Therefore what the future of the Township might be is unknown as more and younger people move in who are not interested in maintaining a rural and agricultural life style.