Originally a part of Kingston Township, when it was chartered by the Susquehanna Company in 1790, Swoyersville incorporated as a separate borough in 1888.[4]
The community was originally called Swoyerville, named after mine owner John Henry Swoyer. In the 1950s, the town held a special vote on whether to add an "s" to the borough's name. The measure passed and the borough became Swoyersville.[citation needed]
Coal mining was the chief industry in and around Swoyersville for most of the 19th and 20th centuries. The mines ceased production in the 1950s (after the Knox Mine Disaster). However, work continued at the colliery on Main Street (in Swoyersville) well into the 1960s. In 1972, the town was severely flooded by the Susquehanna River as a result of Hurricane Agnes. At the time, there was great concern that many of the flooded abandoned mine tunnels — running underneath Swoyersville — would cave-in. However, the cave-ins never occurred.
Swoyersville's terrain is flat in the south, with the northern part of the borough being hilly. The majority of the borough's land is urban, with some forest in the north.[6]
A massive pile of coal ash as high as a 17-story building is in the town, surrounded by homes. The pile includes enough to fill 26,000 rail cars, and former mayor Christopher Concert advocated for it to be hauled away, if state and federal funding could be secured, despite using it for sledding in the winter as a child.[7]
According to the census, an estimated 5,092 people, including 2,444 households, reside in the borough.[2] The population density was 2,386.4 inhabitants per square mile (921.4/km2). There were 2,487 housing units at an average density of 1,090.3 per square mile (421.0/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 97.2% White, 1.8% African American, 1.1% Native American, 1.0% Asian, and 1.8% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.7% of the population, as of the 2020 census.[3]
There were 2,332 households, out of which 21.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 30.4% had a female householder with no husband present. 37.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The borough's age distribution shows 18.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.7% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 23.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.4 males.[needs update]
The median income for a household in the borough was $30,434, and the median income for a family was $39,188. Males had a median income of $29,101 versus $26,304 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,449. About 10.4% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.
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