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Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District

Our 11th Congressional District of Pennsylvania is comprised of all of Columbia, Carbon, and Monroe counties, as well as parts of Luzerne and Lackawanna counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Major cities in the district include Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Hazleton.

Carbon County
Carbon County, established on March 13, 1843, houses some of the most beautiful land in Pennsylvania. The first settlement of Carbon County was a Moravian mission in 1745 named Gnadenhutten, which is now known as Lehighton.

Located near the center of the county is Jim Thorpe. The borough – which is also the county seat – was originally called Mauch Chunk, but it was renamed in honor of the renowned Olympic medalist after his death. The borough is recognized as the “Gateway to the Poconos.” The picturesque hills and mountains rolling through the area have helped the region become known as the “Switzerland of the United States.” 

Much of the land in Carbon County is part of one of three state parks, so there is a wide variety of hunting, swimming, camping, hiking, biking, and winter activity opportunities. Eleven properties in Carbon County are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the Asa Packer Mansion and St. Mark's Episcopal Church designated as two of nearly 2,500 National Historic Landmarks recognized by the United States government.

Visit Carbon County's Web site to learn more.

 

Columbia County

Columbia County, created in the early 1800s, was named after a poetic allusion to Christopher Columbus. The county is most commonly known for Bloomsburg, the county seat and the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania. Every year, Bloomsburg hosts the largest fair in Pennsylvania during the last week of September. The 2010 Bloomsburg Fair attracted more than 400,000 people, who enjoyed 1,500 food stands and a variety of popular musical acts and comedians.

Pennsylvania’s third-largest concentration of covered bridges can be found in Columbia County. There are almost two dozen covered bridges throughout the region. The scenic and languid Susquehanna River flows past Bloomsburg, Berwick, and Catawissa. The river can be accessed at multiple locations for a fun day of fishing, canoeing, swimming, or kayaking. These are all ways to explore hidden treasures located in Columbia County.

Visit Columbia County's Web site to learn more.

 

Lackawanna County
Lackawanna County is Pennsylvania’s most recently established county, with its creation just over 130 years ago. Named after the Lackawanna River, Lackawanna County is the perfect mix of city and country life.

Scranton, the county seat and largest city, is known as “The Electric City.” Recently ranked in the top 30 fastest-recovering cities by Forbes,Scranton has also been dubbed by Business Week as one of the best places to raise kids and “start over.” Scranton is also home to Dunder Mifflin, the fictional paper company on the hit television show “The Office.” 

But if the city hustle isn’t intriguing, there are outdoor venues in Lackawanna County to visit during the spring, summer, and fall. Snö Mountain (formerly known as Montage Mountain) is open year-round to accommodate tourists and travelers for everything from skiing to water tubing. Railroad buffs can’t miss a day at the Steamtown National Historic Site, which includes locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, and maintenance-of-way equipment from several historic railroads. The locomotives range in size from a tiny industrial switcher engine built in 1937 by the H.K. Porter Company for the Bullard Company, to a huge Union Pacific Big Boy built in 1941 by the American Locomotive Company (Alco).

On a rainy day, a tour of the Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour takes you 300 feet below ground to learn about how local ancestors mined resources from the earth.

Visit Lackawanna County's Web site to learn more.

 

Luzerne County
Luzerne County, located in the Anthracite area of “The Coal Region” in Northeastern Pennsylvania, has a rich heritage that dates back to pre-Colonial days of the United States. Patriots from the Wyoming Valley of Luzerne County served in the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War. On September 23, 1786, the Pennsylvania General Assembly created Luzerne County, naming it in honor of the Chevalier de la Luzerne, the French minister to the United States during the end of the war.

Even before significant settlement of the valley began, early explorers had encountered a new form of coal – anthracite – a “stone coal” so hard it wouldn’t burn or maintain a fire. On February 11, 1808, Judge Jesse Fell introduced his invention – an iron grate that would maintain a fire using anthracite coal. This simple device helped anthracite coal spark the American Industrial Revolution – and forever altered the history of Luzerne County. As the anthracite coal industry grew, so did the local population and infrastructure.

To explore that history, visit Eckley Miners’ Village, a planned 19th-Century industrial coal mining “company town” now administered by the state’s historical commission.

But Luzerne County is more than its treasured past. It’s preparing for the future, and is the home of nearly half a dozen well-known colleges such as King’s College, Wilkes University, Misericordia University, Penn State Wilkes-Barre, and Penn State Hazleton.

Wilkes-Barre (the county seat) and Hazleton are two of the largest cities in the county, with a number of sites and shops to explore and create unforgettable memories.

Luzerne County is also home to the second-largest brewery in Pennsylvania and the 15th-largest American-owned brewery in the United States – The Lion Brewery, which is open for tours throughout the year.

Visit Luzerne County's Web site to learn more.

 

Monroe County
Named after the fifth president of the United States, Monroe County is one of the fastest-growing counties in Pennsylvania. With a variety of activities during every season, it is nearly impossible to accomplish everything this county has to offer in just one weekend. Monroe County is best known as “The Poconos,” since it’s the heart of the Pocono Mountains. There are a wide variety of accommodations available throughout the Pocono Mountains and Monroe County, including more than 40 bed-and-breakfasts, more than 20 campgrounds, 14 country inns, nearly 30 hotels, and nine different real estate companies for vacation home rentals.

Monroe County has a long list of “Things to Do” while visiting, regardless of the time of year. From skiing and snowshoeing in the winter to hiking and biking in the summer, the list of options is endless. Water parks, golf courses, state game lands, horseback riding trails, NASCAR racing, rock climbing – Monroe County really does have it all, and it’s just a short drive to New York City.

Visit Monroe County's Web site to learn more.

 

Other information for Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District:

*NOTE: This link contains data from the 2000 United States Census

 

Information about Congressional Redistricting
Every ten years, the U.S. government conducts a nationwide census. The population data is used to redraw congressional districts.

Pennsylvania's congressional lines are drawn by the state legislature, as a regular statute, subject to gubernatorial veto.

Like all states, Pennsylvania must comply with constitutional equal population requirements; for its state legislative lines, Pennsylvania further asks that districts be drawn that are as "nearly equal in population as practicable." [Pa. Const. art. II, § 16]

The U.S. Constitution requires that each district have about the same population: each federal district within a state must be about the same size, each state district within a state must be about the same size, and each local district within its jurisdiction must be about the same size.

The standard for congressional districts is quite strict, with equal population required "as nearly as is practicable." In practice, this means that states must make a good-faith effort to draw districts with exactly the same number of people in each district within the state. Any district with more or fewer people than the average (also known as the "ideal" population) must be specifically justified by a consistent state policy. And even consistent policies that cause a one percent spread from largest to smallest district will likely be unconstitutional.

(For comparison, state and local legislative districts have a bit more flexibility; they have to be "substantially" equal. Over a series of cases, it has become accepted that a plan will be constitutionally suspect if the largest and smallest districts are more than ten percent apart.)

Pennsylvania must also, like all states, abide by section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which blocks district lines that deny minority voters an equal opportunity "to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice."

(Source: Loyola Law School Web site, accessed January 3, 2012)

The New 11th District of Pennsylvania
On December 22, 2011, Governor Tom Corbett signed into law Senate Bill 1249 (Printer’s Number 1869), which creates new congressional districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Electors would vote for members of Congress based on the new district lines in the Primary Election on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, and in the General Election on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. The new congressional district lines would take effect (for the purposes of constituent services, for example) in January 2013.

Note that the geography of the current 11th District of Pennsylvania does not change through December 2012.

To learn more about the new 11th District of Pennsylvania, read the text of Senate Bill 1249 (Printer’s Number 1869) here.

To view the new 11th District of Pennsylvania map click here.