Snydertown, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

The first owner of property in Snydertown was Godfrey Rockefeller. His land passed into the hands of Joseph Snyder, for whom Snydertown is named. Snydertown was incorporated from Shamokin Township in 1871.[4]

QR 4012 (Snydertown Road) in Snydertown

Snydertown is located at 40°52′24″N 76°40′14″W (40.873399, -76.670632).[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.0 km²), all of it land.

Shamokin Creek passes through Snydertown. Most of Snydertown's terrain is hilly, but it is flat near Shamokin Creek. Most of the land in the borough is forest, but there is some farmland.[6]

As of the census[8] of 2000, there were 357 people, 136 households, and 99 families residing in the borough. The population density was 102.4 people per square mile (39.5/km²). There were 143 housing units at an average density of 41.0 per square mile (15.8/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 99.16% White, 0.56% Asian, and 0.28% from two or more races.

There were 136 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.0% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.5% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the borough the population was spread out, with 23.8% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 113.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $40,250, and the median income for a family was $41,563. Males had a median income of $30,000 versus $20,625 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $15,107. About 5.9% of families and 7.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.4% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Map of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania Public School Districts

The local public school system is the Shikellamy School District. The administrative offices are located at Administration Center, 200 Island Blvd, Sunbury, Pennsylvania. Shikellamy High School has a 78% graduation rate according to the district report card 2005-2006. In 11th grade, 49% were proficient in math. For reading 62% were proficient in 2005-2006. The high school is ranked 384th out of 606 public high schools in Pennsylvania.

In 2007, the Pittsburgh Business Times ranked the Shikellamy School District 434th out of 499 Pennsylvania school districts based on three years of Pennsylvania System of Student Assessment test scores.[10]

The Shikellamy School Board set the budget at $34.62 million for 2007-2008. The board levies a variety of taxes to support its programs. Taxes include 62.5 mills real estate tax in 2007.[11] Per capita taxes are $5 per resident. An earned income taxes of one-half of 1 percent of income yields a revenue of approximately $1.8 million. Additionally, the real estate transfer tax of one-half percent (Northumberland Borough, Point Township, Rockefeller Township) and one percent (Snydertown borough) is levied on real estate transfers.[12]

Voters rejected a tax referendum in May 2007 which would have increased local earned income tax by 0.5 percent to reduce property taxes for homeowners and farmers by $176.[13]

SUN Area Technical Institute is a regional vocational school, offering adult education classes, vocational education, and technical career training. SUN Tech serves over 1500 people annually. ISO9001 and Middle States Accredited. SUN Tech was presented with the Significant Achievement Award in Education for raising their Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award score to 648 points, a 345-point increase from 303 points in August, 2000.

Residents also have a wide selection of alternative schools. By law, the local public school must provide transportation to schools within 10 miles of the borders of the school district at no charge to the student.[14]