About Northumberland, PA
Northumberland, PA is the type of town where you might attend a seasonal festival, pick up a map for your children to treasure hunt for treats from the local merchants or picnic in one of the local parks. The river shapes the small town lifestyle.
Northumberland is an old community, built on land purchased from the Iroquois Indians, evacuated during the American Revolution and resettled again in 1784. The community is located at that spot on the Susquehanna River where the North and West branches meet, and is across the river from Sunbury, PA, the county seat of Northumberland County. A large part of the community is in the registered Historic District.
There are two homes in town on the National Register of Historic Places. The first is the home of Joseph Priestley – the co-discoverer of oxygen – and the second is a library built by his grandson in Priestley’s honor. The city also held a place of importance in the end of WWII as the commander/pilot and navigator of the Enola Gay were natives of Northumberland.
Northumberland children attend the Shikellamy Area Schools. Adults tend to travel less than 30 minutes to work on average as Northumberland is across the river just minutes from the county seat of government and lies a few miles from a major area employer, the Geisinger Health Center. The cost of living in Northumberland is at 87.3%. (source: www.city-data.com) and the Borough employs five full time police officers. Most Northumberland homes have porches.
Recent activity in the 20 year old plan by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to make large scale changes to take traffic out of the town from routes 11 and 15 have left a feeling of excitement and change in the air. Northumberland, PA looks forward to the progress.
