Starrucca, Pennsylvania

Starrucca, Pennsylvania
Borough of Starrucca
Image of a mildly dilapidated, yellow and red wooden building of a style common in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. A hand-painted sign on the front reads, "POST OFFICE STARRUCCA, PA. 18462."
The Starrucca Post Office.
Nickname(s): 
Wayne Borough,[1] Starucca[1] (both historical)
Location in Wayne County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Location in Wayne County and the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
Starrucca is located in Pennsylvania
Starrucca
Starrucca
Location of Starrucca in Pennsylvania
Starrucca is located in the United States
Starrucca
Starrucca
Starrucca (the United States)
Coordinates: 41°53′58″N 75°27′40″W / 41.89944°N 75.46111°W / 41.89944; -75.46111
CountryUnited States
StatePennsylvania
US Congressional DistrictPA-8
State Senatorial District20
State House of Representatives District111
CountyWayne
School DistrictSusquehanna Community
Region III
Settledc. 1800[2]
Incorporated as "Wayne Borough"1853[1]
Renamed "Starucca Borough"April 10, 1873[1]
Named forStarrucca Creek[1]
Government
 • TypeWeak mayor-council
 • MayorJason Heeman [3]
 • Borough Council[3]
Council Members
 • US RepresentativeMatt Cartwright (D)
 • State SenatorLisa Baker (R)
 • State RepresentativeSandra Major (R)
Area
 • Total
8.98 sq mi (23.27 km2)
 • Land8.91 sq mi (23.09 km2)
 • Water0.07 sq mi (0.18 km2)
Elevation
1,309[5] ft (399 m)
Population
 (2020)[6]
 • Total
173
 • Estimate 
({{{pop_est_as_of}}})
165
 • Density18.51/sq mi (7.15/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern Daylight (EDT))
ZIP code
Area code(s)570
GNIS feature IDs1188422[5][9] (Place)
1215688[9] (Borough)
FIPS code42-73784[10]
WaterwaysMach Pond,[11] Shadigee Creek, Starrucca Creek

Starrucca (/ˈstrʌkə/ STRUK) is a borough that is located in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 169 at the time of the 2020 United States Census.[12][6]

History

Starrucca was named after the founder's horse, which he rode as he surveyed the land. Other says Starrucca means either where waters meet in a Native American language, or that it is from a more ancient term meaning "where dreams go to die." (Star (rucca, dying, as in a dying star).

The historic Stone Arch Bridge over Starrucca Creek was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 1, 1979, and was delisted on May 8, 1986,[13] after being demolished.

In 2003, Dennis and Donna Corrigan were honored by the Wayne County Historical Society with its Historic Preservation Award for their restoration of the Major Elisha Strong House in Starrucca.[14] Born in 1818, Strong was a resident of New York and a former major in a militia unit who was awarded a 410-acre portion of the Pennsylvania estate of John Sherwood in 1852, including a plank house with board-and-batten siding and hemlock plank floors and doors. Built circa 1800, the house was later expanded with a Greek Revival-style addition. Strong subsequently formed a partnership with Guernsey Osborne and began operating the Starrucca Tannery; he then moved his family to Starrucca in 1862 and added cattle breeding and lumber production to his business portfolio. By 1872, he owned most of the town's land and buildings. Following his death in 1895, his widow, Estelle Strong, was awarded ownership of what would later become known as the Major Elisha Strong House; she then retained that ownership until 1921.[15]

The Barnes House, which is located on Depot Hill on Little Ireland Road in Starrucca, is a large clapboard residence that was built by Homer Spencer in 1888. Shortly thereafter, Spencer built a three-story grist mill; his historic property was then purchased eleven years later by Miles Kenyon and Arthur Laribee who took over the mill's operations before selling the mill and house to Stephen Decatur Barnes and his wife, Hattie (Armstrong) Barnes in 1910. Barnes subsequently added an extension to the mill's south side, upgraded the nearby dam from a wooden to concrete structure, and then continued to operate the water-powered grist mill until 1940, when a new power source was installed. The mill, which finally ceased operations in 1986, was purchased by William and Valerie Tilton in 1994.[16]

Geography

Starrucca is located at 41°53′58″N 75°27′40″W / 41.89944°N 75.46111°W / 41.89944; -75.46111 (41.574214, -75.255966).[17]

According to the United States Census Bureau, Starrucca has a total area of 8.985 sq mi (23.27 km2), of which 8.915 sq mi (23.09 km2) is land and 0.070 sq mi (0.18 km2), or 0.77%, is water.[18]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1860400
187047619.0%
188053512.4%
1890431−19.4%
1900404−6.3%
1910381−5.7%
19203974.2%
1930351−11.6%
1940340−3.1%
1950326−4.1%
19603301.2%
1970292−11.5%
1980216−26.0%
1990199−7.9%
20002168.5%
2010173−19.9%
2020169−2.3%
Sources:[19][20]

As of the Census of 2010, there were 173 people, 75 households, and 52 families in Starrucca. The borough's population density was 19.4 people per square mile (7.49/km2), and there were 126 housing units at an average density of 14.0/sq mi (5.41/km2).

The racial makeup of the populace was 96.0% White, 1.7% African American, 0.0% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 0.6% of other races, and 1.2% of two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of all races made up 4.0% of the population.[18][19]

According to the informal consensus, 69.3% of Starrucca's households were families and 96.0% were headed by a married couple. In addition, 20.0% of documented households included children who were under the age of eighteen, 6.7% of households were headed by a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% were headed by a male householder with no wife present, 30.7% consisted of non-families, 28.0% were made up of individuals, and 12.0% were one-person households with residents who were sixty-five years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.69.[19]

Starrucca's documented age distribution included 20.2% of residents who were under the age of eighteen, 2.3% between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four, 20.2% between the ages of twenty-five and forty-four, 38.7% between the ages of forty-five and sixty-four, and 18.5% who were sixty-five years of age or older. The population's median age was 49.3 years.

For every one hundred females, there were 130 males. For every one hundred females who were aged eighteen older, there were 130 males within the same age range.[19]

According to American Community Survey (ACS) estimates, the median income for a household in Starrucca in 2013 was $47,500, and the median income for a family was $67,500. Males had a median income of $35,625, while females had a median income of $28,125.

The per capita income for the borough was $24,535. 2.6% of families and 24.3% of people were documented as living below the Census Bureau's poverty thresholds (different from the federally defined poverty guidelines), including 0.0% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those aged sixty-five or older.[21][22]

According to self-reported ancestry figures recorded by the ACS, the five largest ancestral groups in Starrucca in 2013 were Germans (28.8%), English (19.9%), Poles (10.5%), Irish (9.9%), and Dutch (6.8%). Those reporting American ancestry made up 2.6% of the population.[23]

Education

The school district is the Susquehanna Community School District.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Ham, Thomas J. (1995) [1905 - 1907]. Fluhr, George J. (ed.). The Nomenclature of Wayne: A History of Wayne County, PA (Compiled from articles originally published in the Honesdale Citizen.). Honesdale, PA: Wayne County Historical Society (published 2003). p. 4.
  2. ^ Mathews, Alfred (1886). History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe Counties, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: R.T. Peck & Company. p. 718. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Municipal Index" (PDF). Wayne County Planning Commission/GIS. WordPress. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  4. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Starrucca". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 2 August 1979. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  6. ^ a b "PennDOT Liquid Fuel Map" (PDF). PennDOT. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Look up a ZIP Code". USPS.COM. USPS. 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  8. ^ a b "US Postal Code Boundaries". Google. Google Maps. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  9. ^ a b "Borough of Starrucca". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 30 August 1990. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  10. ^ U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000. "Census Demographic Profiles, Starrucca Borough" (PDF). CenStats Databases. Retrieved 2009-01-31.[dead link]
  11. ^ "Mach Pond". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 2 August 1979. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  12. ^ "2010 Census Interactive Population Search". Census.gov. U.S. Department of Commerce. 2010. Archived from the original on 2015-06-20. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  13. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  14. ^ "Historic Preservation Awards." Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Wayne County Historical Society, retrieved online June 2, 2023.
  15. ^ "Major Elisha P. Strong House." Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Wayne County Historical Society, retrieved online June 2, 2023.
  16. ^ "The Barnes House." Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Wayne County Historical Society, retrieved online June 2, 2023.
  17. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  18. ^ a b 2014 Census National Places Gazetteer File for Pennsylvania (Report). U.S. Department of Commerce. 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  19. ^ a b c d Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data for Starrucca, Pennsylvania (Report). U.S. Department of Commerce. 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  20. ^ Census of Population and Housing (Report). U.S. Department of Commerce. 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  21. ^ SELECTED ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for Starrucca, Pennsylvania (Report). U.S. Department of Commerce. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  22. ^ OCCUPATION BY SEX AND MEDIAN EARNINGS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2013 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS) FOR THE CIVILIAN EMPLOYED POPULATION 16 YEARS AND OVER 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for Starrucca, Pennsylvania (Report). U.S. Department of Commerce. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  23. ^ SELECTED SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS IN THE UNITED STATES 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for Starrucca, Pennsylvania (Report). U.S. Department of Commerce. 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2015.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Wayne County, PA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2024-10-31. - Text list