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Northern Tier Coalition of Townships
Susquehanna County, PA
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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
RUSH TOWNSHIP
Rush Township is located in the southwestern corner of the Northern Tier Coalition. Like Jessup, Rush Township’s topography is a dominant feature – with four of the branches of the Wyalusing Creek meeting in Rush, the land is low and well drained. Rush is also dotted by a number of hamlets (Rushville, Lawton, Center Rush, East Rush) and enjoys a mix of forest and working farms.
Early History Rush Township was settled as early as 1794 and was established as a township from the county of Luzerne in 1801 and then became part of Susquehanna County. The township was named in honor of Judge Jacob Rush, president of the courts of Common Pleas in the region, and had at one time been a Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice. In 1812 Rush was divided into three townships – Middletown and Choconut to the north were separated. Rush is home to a number of hamlets, and they were developed during the 1830s and 1840s. The first post office was established at Rush Centre in 1835 and early Baptist and Presbyterian churches were established in the 1840s.
Recent Development According to the 2000 census, Rush Township has grown by fourteen percent in the decade of the 1990s to a total of 1,290 residents. Like many other NTC communities, Rush’s population demographic is trending older, however, the trend is not as pronounced as many of the northern townships. Rush, as is the case of Jessup and Bridgewater, is a township growing at a faster pace then many other NTC communities. Housing units grew by 14% between 1990 and 2000, and the township saw four new subdivisions in 2000, and a total of eleven new lots between 1998 and 2000.
Conservation Issues & Opportunities The low lying topography of Rush township, as well as the confluence of four of the branches of the Wyalusing Creek points to issues of water quality and flooding as major issues for the township to address. Moreover, Rush Township also contains the edge of the landfill property (in the northwestern corner) mentioned in the Middletown section of the report. As in Jessup Township, conservation opportunities center on the Wyalusing Creek East Branch, with its prime fishing areas, heritage farms and hamlets. In the latter case, Rush has four rural hamlets – more than any other NTC municipality— within its boundaries, including Rushville, Lawton, Center Rush and East Rush. The former three are all along the Wyalusing East Branch/Route 706 corridor. Other issues of rural quality are similar to the NTC as a whole and are addressed in the final section of this booklet.
BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP & MONTROSE BOROUGH
Bridgewater Township is the most populous township within the Northern Coalition. The township surrounds the Borough of Montrose, the county seat and primary commercial center of the area. As of publication of this book Montrose was not a part of Northern Coalition, but is included to the extent that its conservation, development and planning affects Bridgewater and the NTC more generally. Bridgewater and Montrose are the chief areas in the NTC that contain major commercial development and substantial infrastructure in the form of public water and sewer services. Bridgewater retains a strong agricultural base and a growing recreational and second home population in the lake-district located in the northeast quadrant of the township.
Early History The first European settler to establish a permanent residence in the area now encompassed by Bridgewater Township was Stephen Wilson. In 1799, Wilson settled approximately one-half mile south of what is now Montrose. The years immediately following the turn of the century witnessed a slow, but steady, stream of immigrants from New York and Connecticut. By 1803, the first school, serving forty-two students, was established in a log house about a mile south of Montrose. The Bridgewater Baptist Church was established in 1808 and its first permanent pastor, Elder Dimock, was appointed within a year. By 1809, Bridgewater was accessible by the Milford - Oswego Turnpike which diagonally traverses the township. Susquehanna County was established by Act of the Pennsylvania legislature in February of 1810 and Bridgewater Township was the most populous community in the county with a population of 1,418 inhabitants – four-fifths of the county’s total inhabitants. In 1811, the county seat was established at Montrose.
Recent Development Between 1960 and 1990, Bridgewater has become the most populous community in Susquehanna County with a population increase of 30% over the thirty-year period. The county has experienced a substantial increase in seasonal and recreational housing, particularly since 1980, with Bridgewater Township attracting the largest share of seasonal home buying and residential development pressure. The residential development occurring in Bridgewater is primarily taking place outside the traditional population centers in the outlying countryside. The area remains predominantly rural in character, but many of the working farms have been replaced by seasonal residential and recreational uses and the amount of pastureland is decreasing. Absentee ownership now makes up one-third of the residential land. Community leaders characterize Bridgewater as increasingly a community of second homeowners and retirees.
According to the 2000 census, Bridgewater Township and Montrose Borough are the population center of the NTC. With a total population in of 2,668, Bridgewater increased by 300 residents in the decade of the 1990s – a nearly 13% increase. Montrose borough, on the other hand, declined in population between the 1990 and 2000 census. When broken down by age group, it becomes evident that the population of Bridgewater is aging – with the baby boomer generation aging in place and a rather dramatic increase in the over-60 years old age group. Both Bridgewater and Montrose show a considerably higher proportion of their population in the over-60 age groups then Susquehanna County as a whole. Median age in 2000 in Susquehanna County was 39.5; in Bridgewater Township the median age was 41.5. With regards to housing units and occupancy, Bridgewater enjoys a lower percentage of vacant housing units than does the county (15% in Bridgewater, 11% in Montrose and 24% countywide). Bridgewater also enjoys a higher home ownership rate (84%) then either Susquehanna County (81%) or Montrose (66%). Development in the township is increasing steadily. Between 1998 and 2000, Bridgewater saw 38 new subdivisions – by far the most out of any NTC community. Bridgewater also saw a 17% increase in the number of housing units between 1990 and 2000 making the township one of the fastest developing areas in the region.
Conservation Issues & Opportunities Bridgewater has traditionally been an agricultural based economy with the exception of a vast number of jobs formerly provided by the Bendix Corporation, located in South Montrose. With the closing of Bendix, many members of the area’s working population are dependent on jobs outside the community. Furthermore, the move from a resource-based economy to a transient recreational based economy of second homeowners is seen as posing a particular challenge to the preservation of the rural character of the community. Small farms are converting to residential use. Accompanying this development is a demand for additional infrastructure services in sparsely populated areas. One of the primary tasks facing Bridgewater Township and Montrose is where and how to direct this residential and commercial growth so as not to sacrifice the commercial vitality of Montrose or the cultural landscape of the surrounding township. The town-country relationship between the hill-town-like Montrose and neighboring farms and forest is a keystone to conserving the spatial and view qualities of the central part of the township.