Northumberland County, Pennsylvania

Northumberland County
Northumberland County Courthouse
Northumberland County Courthouse
Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northumberland County
Location within the U.S. state of Pennsylvania
Map of the United States highlighting Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 40°51′N 76°43′W / 40.85°N 76.71°W / 40.85; -76.71
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
FoundedMarch 21, 1772
Named forNorthumberland
SeatSunbury
Largest citySunbury
Area
 • Total478 sq mi (1,240 km2)
 • Land458 sq mi (1,190 km2)
 • Water19 sq mi (50 km2)  4.0%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total91,647 Decrease
 • Density204/sq mi (79/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district9th
Websitewww.norrycopa.net

Northumberland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,647.[1] Its county seat is Sunbury.[2] The county is part of the Central Pennsylvania region of the state.[a]

The county was formed in 1772 from parts of Lancaster, Berks, Bedford, Cumberland, and Northampton Counties and named for the county of Northumberland in northern England. Northumberland County is a fifth class county according to the Pennsylvania's County Code.[3] Northumberland County comprises the Sunbury, Pennsylvania Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Bloomsburg-Berwick-Sunbury, PA Combined Statistical Area. Among its notable residents are Thomas L. Hamer, a Democratic member of Congress in the 1830s, and Joseph Priestley, the Enlightenment chemist and theologian, who left England in 1796 due to religious and political persecution and settled on the Susquehanna River. His former house, originally purchased by chemists from Pennsylvania State University after a colloquium that founded the American Chemical Society,[4] is a historical museum.[5]

  1. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Northumberland County, Pennsylvania". Census.gov. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ "Pennsylvania Counties by Class". County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  4. ^ [1] Archived March 23, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Joseph Priestley House Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Joseph Priestley House. Retrieved on July 23, 2013.


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