Monroe County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 169,842. Its county seat is Stroudsburg. The county was formed from sections of Northampton and Pike counties. Named in honor of James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, the county is located in northeastern Pennsylvania, along its border with New Jersey. Monroe County is coterminous with the East Stroudsburg, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, within the Greater New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. It also borders the Lehigh Valley and has connections to the Delaware Valley, being a part of Philadelphia's Designated Media Market.
The county is home to East Stroudsburg University. Monroe County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the state of Pennsylvania. Not only has the population increased by over 70% since 1990, but the commercial and retail sectors have grown significantly, as well. There are many new shopping centers, and even more are being constructed and are currently being planned at this time.
Video Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 617 square miles (1,600 km2), of which 608 square miles (1,570 km2) is land and 9.0 square miles (23 km2) (1.5%) is water. It has a humid continental climate (Dfb except for some Dfa in the southern and SE tiers) and the hardiness zone ranges from 5a to 6b. The area code is 570 except in the southwest where the Kunkletown exchange uses 610.
Adjacent counties
National protected areas
- Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (part)
- Middle Delaware National Scenic River (part)
Maps Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 169,842 people, 49,454 households, and 36,447 families residing in the county. The population density was 228 people per square mile (88/km²). There were 67,581 housing units at an average density of 111 per square mile (43/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 70.5% White Non-Hispanic, 13.2% Black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 4.3% from other races, and 2.9% from two or more races. 13.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 19.9% were of German, 16.8% Irish, 14.5% Italian, 8.8% Pennsylvania German, 5.4% Polish, 5.1% American and 5.1% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 49,454 households out of which 36.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.70% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 20.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the county, the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 28.80% from 25 to 44, 23.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.40 males.
Metropolitan Statistical Area
The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated Monroe County of Pennsylvania as the East Stroudsburg, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census the Metro area had a population of 169,842. The area ranks 12th most populous in the state of Pennsylvania and ranks 244th most populous in the United States.
The United States Office of Management and Budget also has designated Monroe County as part of the larger New York-Newark, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. The larger combined area consists of the Lehigh Valley counties of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton as well as Pike County in Pennsylvania, and several other Metro areas from the States of New Jersey and New York. As of the 2010 US Census, the population of the CSA was 23,076,664, making it the most populous Combined Statistical Area in the United States.
Politics
For much of the second half of the 20th century, Monroe County was a Republican stronghold. However, in recent years, party registration has leaned toward the Democratic Party, a result of continued migration to the county by former New York City residents, many of whom are Democrats. While in the 2004 U.S. presidential election the county was carried by Republican George W. Bush by a margin of four votes, beginning with the first campaign (2008) of Barack Obama Democratic candidates carried Monroe County. In that election Obama carried the county by a 17-point margin, 58% to 41%-the first Democrat to win the county since 1964, and only the second since 1940. The other three 2008 statewide Democratic candidates also carried the county handily. Additionally, the Democratic presidential candidates carried the county in 2012 (Obama) and in 2016 (Hillary Clinton.
As of November 2008, there are 113,960 registered voters in Monroe County.
- Democratic: 53,801 (47.21%)
- Republican: 38,905 (34.14%)
- Other Parties: 21,254 (18.65%)
County commissioners
- John Moyer, Chairman, Republican
- Charles Garris, Republican
- John Christy, Democratic
Other county offices
- Controller, Marlo Merhige, Republican
- Coroner, Thomas Yanac, Democratic
- District Attorney, E. David Christine, Jr., Republican
- Prothonotary, George Warden, Republican
- Recorder of Deeds and Register of Wills, Josephine Ferro, Republican
- Sheriff, Todd Martin, Republican
- Treasurer, Theresa Johnson, Republican
State Representatives
- Maureen Madden, Democratic, 115th district
Jack Rader, Jr., Republican, 176th district
- Rosemary Brown, Republican, 189th district
State Senators
- John P. Blake, Democratic, 22nd District
- Mario Scavello, Republican, 40th district
U.S. Representatives
- Tom Marino, Republican, Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district
- Matthew Cartwright, Democratic, Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district
U.S. Senators
- Robert P. Casey, Jr., Democratic
- Pat Toomey, Republican
Governor
- Tom Wolf, Democratic
Transportation
Public transportation throughout the county is provided by the Monroe County Transit Authority, known as the "Pocono Pony". MCTA operates a fixed route bus system and a paratransit curb to curb service for eligible populations.
New Jersey Transit is restoring train tracks in northwestern New Jersey along the Lackawanna Cut-off. This potentially would potentially also involve the train going into the Poconos from Hoboken, marking the first time since the early 1970s when the Erie Lackawanna Railroad stopped running daily trains through the area.
Major highways
Education
Colleges and universities
- East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
- Northampton Community College (Monroe Campus)
Public school districts
- East Stroudsburg Area School District
- Pleasant Valley School District
- Pocono Mountain School District
- Stroudsburg Area School District
Charter schools
- Evergreen Community Charter School, Cresco
- Pocono Mountain Charter School, Tobyhanna, **charter revoked by PDE 2014**
Technology schools
Monroe Career & Technical Institute, Bartonsville
Private schools
- Art Learning Center, East Stroudsburg
- Character Builders Christian Academy, Pocono Pines
- East Stroudsburg Christian Academy, East Stroudsburg **closed in 2012**
- Monsignor McHugh School, Cresco
- Notre Dame Elementary School, East Stroudsburg
- Notre Dame High School, East Stroudsburg
- Pocono Central Catholic High School, Cresco **closed in 1988**
- St Pauls Lutheran Pre-School, East Stroudsburg
- Stroudsburg 7th Day Adventists School, Stroudsburg
- Summit School of the Poconos, Stroudsburg
- Triumphant & Excellence Academy 1, East Stroudsburg
- Triumphant & Excellence Academy 2 TEA Institute, Tobyhanna
- Triumphant Living Heritage, Marshalls Creek
- Victory Baptist Christian School, Brodheadsville
Private schools are as reported in EdNA school database maintained and published by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2011
Industry
The Tobyhanna Army Depot, the US Department of Defense's largest center for the repair and fabrication of electronic systems, is located in Monroe County. It was identified in 2004 as the largest employer in northeastern Pennsylvania.
The US headquarters for Sanofi Pasteur, a vaccine manufacturer, is also in Monroe County. The facility was originally established in 1897 by Brooklyn native Richard M. Slee as the Pocono Biological Laboratories. It was the first and only company in the United States to produce a new glycerolized smallpox vaccine from France and, in 1898, it provided all of the vaccines used in Cuba during the Spanish-American War.
Parks and Trails
The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which "includes nearly 70,000 acres of mountains, valleys and floodplains," is partially located in Monroe County. The county also has Pennsylvania state parks, such as Big Pocono State Park and parts of the Delaware State Forest, Gouldsboro State Park, and Tobyhanna State Park.
The Appalachian Trail passes through Monroe County. David Pierce wrote in the Pocono Record, "The 2,184-mile public footpath -- from Georgia to Maine -- has a particularly scenic but rugged section that straddles Monroe County's southern border..." He stated that "trail hiking has long been an integral part of Monroe County's identity..."
During the Revolutionary War in 1779, General John Sullivan marched his troops through Monroe County on their expedition to fight the Iroquois tribe in New York State. The historic Sullivan Trail is now Pennsylvania Route 115 and contains many historical markers. Sergeant Moses Fellows of the Third New Hampshire Regiment described the area as "...very poor & Barren and I think as never will Be Settled."
Resorts
Two of the earliest Pocono resorts, founded by rival factions of the Philadelphia Quaker community, were located in Monroe County: Inn at Buck Hill Falls (1901) and Pocono Manor (1902). These resorts did not allow liquor or dancing, and evening dress was discouraged. The Quakers "brought a quiet, unostentatious style to the region," but their hotels later developed from religious retreats into "luxurious mountain resorts." Buck Hill's stone facade became a model for close to 300 stately stone-and-shingle homes in the region. Pocono Manor offers sweeping vistas of the eastern and western Pocono region and has been referred to as the "Grand Lady of the Mountains." Buck Hill closed in 1990, and the Inn at Pocono Manor was identified in 2009 as the oldest continuously operating resort in the Pocono Mountains.
Skytop Lodge, built in 1928, is also located in Monroe County and has been described as a "Dutch Colonial-style manor house." Designed in reaction to the Quaker resorts, it had a dance floor and served liquor in a basement bar. Skytop offers thirty miles of hiking trails, and the main building "is surrounded by 5,000 acres of wood, glacial bogs, hemlock gorges, beaver marshes, and cascading waterfalls."
The Buckwood Inn opened in Monroe County in 1911 and included the first golf course to be designed by renowned golf architect A. W. Tillinghast. Bandleader Fred Waring purchased the resort in 1943, renamed it the Shawnee Inn, and broadcast his radio shows from there. The Shawnee Inn is a Spanish colonial revival building with white-Moorish architecture and Spanish tiled roofs, and it was identified in the 1990s as the only resort on the banks of the Delaware River.
As of July 2015, there were three resorts in Monroe County with indoor water parks: Great Wolf Lodge, Aquatopia at Camelback Resort, and Kalahari Resort. The Mount Airy Casino Resort, which opened in October 2007, is also located in Monroe County.
Communities
Under Pennsylvania law, there are four types of incorporated municipalities: cities, boroughs, townships, and, in at most two cases, towns. The following cities, boroughs and townships are located in Monroe County:
Boroughs
- Delaware Water Gap
- East Stroudsburg
- Mount Pocono
- Stroudsburg (county seat)
Townships
Census-designated places
Census-designated places are geographical areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau for the purposes of compiling demographic data. They are not actual jurisdictions under Pennsylvania law.
Unincorporated communities
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Monroe County.
+ county seat
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Monroe County, Pennsylvania
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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