Coalition
Members

Apolacon Twp..
Bridgewater Twp.
Choconut Twp.
Forest Lake Twp.
Franklin Twp.
Jessup Twp.
Liberty Twp.
Middletown Twp.
Rush Twp.
Silver Lake Twp
Friendsville
Little Meadows
Montrose

CENSUS & DEMOGRAPHICS

Susquehanna County is a rural county with a population of a little over forty thousand. Most of the population as well as higher population densities are distributed in Silver Lake Township, Bridgewater Township and Montrose Borough. The county has grown at a slow but steady rate for decades. The 13 municipalities of the NTC experienced a relatively small change in overall population. Jessup and Rush townships gained the greatest percentages of population in the decade, sixteen and fourteen percent increases respectively. While Montrose Borough lost seventeen percent of its population - the largest percentage drop in the NTC between 1990 and 2000.

While the population growth in the NTC is relatively stagnant, one trend is not – the age demographic of the NTC is growing older. Between 1990 and 2000 nearly every community within the NTC saw the percentage of “45-64” and “65 and over” segments of its population increase while the “0-19” and “20-44” have decreased. Only Jessup and Montrose Borough saw percentage increases in the “20-44” age group and Montrose Borough was the only community that saw any percentage increase in its “0-19” group, and that was negligible. Figure 8 is a table which depicts the percent of population for each community by age group. Figure 9 shows the percent change in the age groups between 1990 and 2000.

Bridgewater, Jessup and Rush townships have experienced the greatest increase in housing units over the last decade – with over seventeen percent increases in the first two townships and a fourteen percent increase in Rush. If this dwelling unit increase is projected to 2010, Bridgewater should expect nearly another 200 housing units to be built, Jessup nearly 40 and Rush over 70 new units.

One trend of note regards the seasonal vacancy rates of the townships. In nearly all townships the seasonal percentage has dropped in the past decade surprisingly close to the same percentage as new housing being added. This may point to new units being predominantly for full-time occupancy, or simply a statistical fluke. Regardless, the NTC communities are becoming less seasonal and are growing steadily. The mix of that occupancy leans heavily to ownership in all NTC communities, with the exception of Montrose Borough.

INDUSTRY & ECONOMICS

Agriculture, forestry and non-coal mining are the chief “industries” of Susquehanna County and the NTC. With much of the county’s population working outside of the county, either in Scranton or the Tri-Cities area (Binghamton, Endicott and Johnson City), other industrial development (manufacturing, refining, etc.) are mostly absent in the county. What follows is a brief review of the agriculture, forestry and quarry industries in Susquehanna County and the NTC, followed by quick review of the economic data for the county.

AGRICULTURE

Farming plays a major role in Susquehanna County’s history and cultural heritage. The landscape is distinctly pastoral, heavily influenced by the agriculture that has taken place there for over 200 years. Early farms were literally carved out of the forest and sustenance crops were grown between stones and stumps. Over time larger fields were better cleared and the stones became the incredible legacy of rock walls and hedgerows in the area. In the middle part of the 19th Century was its height with nearly 80% of the land in cultivation or use as pasture. Crops ranged from flax and wheat, to corn, oats and rye, and most farms were small by comparison to those that remain today.

Unfortunately, the face of agriculture in the county is changing as family farms face increasing threats and begin to disappear. Some of these threats are simply a result of farmers aging and not having anyone to take over the farm. In other cases, the farmland seems more valuable as a housing subdivision than as an agricultural operation. Corporate agriculture also plays a role in driving out smaller farms, as industrial scale farms push out the smaller family operations.

In Pennsylvania, Susquehanna County along with several of its neighboring counties together comprises a unique area of the state in terms of agriculture. While the southeastern corner of the state is well-known for agriculture and has a high concentration of farms and livestock, Susquehanna, Bradford and Tioga Counties, together form another core area of agricultural activity for the state and are for the most part surrounded by areas with few farms. According to the 1997 Agriculture Census, Susquehanna County had 703 active farms, more than 90% of which are owned and operated by individuals or families. The average farm size was 240 acres, but there was a wide range of sizes. Consistent with Pennsylvania as a whole, and especially the north eastern corner, these farms are predominantly dairy or beef cattle, accounting for 93% of the active farms in the county.

Altogether in 1997, farms in Susquehanna County generated $43,016,000 in sales, with an average of $61,190 per farm. The value of sales per farm is fairly evenly distributed among categories ranging from less than $2,500 per year to more than $100,000 per year. However, the two largest groups of sales value are at the extremes.

Sixty-three percent of the farm operators in Susquehanna County list farming as their principle occupation, although this number declined 10% from the 1992 Census. The principle operators are predominantly white males with an average age of 55 years. The majority of these farms do not hire outside labor, but according to the 1997 Census, in Susquehanna County 252 farms employed a total of 611 people. Most farms employed between one and two workers. According to the supervisors of the municipalities in the NTC, there are currently 85 working farms. Figure 3.15 is map of these farms in relationship to prime agricultural soils and agricultural easements.

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