Shamokin, Pennsylvania
| Shamokin, Pennsylvania | ||
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| City | ||
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 Shamokin
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| Coordinates: 40°47′21″N 76°33′17″W / 40.78917°N 76.55472°WCoordinates: 40°47′21″N 76°33′17″W / 40.78917°N 76.55472°W | ||
| Country | United States | |
| State | Pennsylvania | |
| County | Northumberland | |
| Settled | 1835 | |
| Incorporated (borough) | 1864 | |
| Incorporated (city) | 1949 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | City | |
| • Mayor | George S. Rozinskie, Jr. | |
| • Councilman | R. Craig Rhoades, Director of Parks and Recreation | |
| • Councilman | William D. Milbrand, Director of Public Safety | |
| • Councilman | Michael A. Snyder, Director of Public Works | |
| • Councilman | William R. Strausser, Director of Accounts and Finance | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 0.8 sq mi (2.1 km2) | |
| Elevation | 800 ft (200 m) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 7,374 | |
| • Density | 9,217.5/sq mi (3,511.43/km2) | |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
| ZIP code | 17872 | |
| Area code(s) | 570 Exchanges: 644, 648 | |
| Website | http://www.shamokincity.org/ | |
Shamokin (/ʃəˈmoʊkᵻn/; Saponi Algonquian Schahamokink, meaning "place of eels") (Lenape: Shahëmokink ) is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, surrounded by Coal Township at the western edge of the Anthracite Coal Region. It was named after a Saponi village, Schahamokink. At the 2010 census the population was 7,374 residents. The city of Shamokin is bordered by Coal Township, Pennsylvania.
The first human settlement of Shamokin was probably Shawnee migrants.[4] A large population of Delaware Indians was also forcibly resettled there in the early 18th century after they lost rights to their land in the Walking Purchase. Canasatego of the Six Nations, enforcing the Walking Purchase of behalf of George Thomas, Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania, ordered the Delaware Indians to go to two places on the Susquehanna River, one of which was present-day Sunbury.[4]
From 1727 to 1756, Sunbury was one of the largest and most influential Indian settlements in Pennsylvania.[4] At that time, it was known as Shamokin, not to be confused with the present-day city of Shamokin, Pennsylvania, which is located to the east. In 1745, Presbyterian missionary David Brainerd described the city as being located on both the east and west sides of the river, and on an island, as well. Brainerd reported that the city housed 300 Indians, half of which were Delawares and the other Seneca and Tutelo.[5]
In 1754, much of the land west of the Susquehanna was transferred from the Six Nations to Pennsylvania at the Albany Congress. However, Shamokin was not sold and was reserved by the Six Nations, "to settle such of our Nations as shall come to us from the Ohio or any others who shall deserve to be in our Alliance."[6] According to Weslager, "the Pennsylvania authorities had no opposition to the Six Nations reserving Wyoming and Shamokin from the sale, since friendly Delawares, including Teedyuskung (also known as Teedyuscung) and his people living in those settlements--and any other Indians who might be placed there--constituted a buffer against Connecticut."[6]
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