Valley Girl Views: The Only "Town" In Pennsylvania

Having been born and raised in this valley, I've always known that Bloomsburg is the only "Town" in Pennsylvania. I've seen the sign. "There are 956 boroughs, 96 townships, 57 cities, and one town. The only town in Pennsylvania is Bloomsburg which is located in Columbia County."

But it was not until this week that I finally thought to ask why, how, and what does that even mean?

I found an article in 1992 that explains it pretty well. I'm going to quote, rather than paraphrase, so that I'm less likely to make a mistake:

"Bloomsburg's distinction of being the only incorporated town results from a special act of incorporation that was passed by Pennsylvania's General Assembly on March 4, 1870.

Community leaders at that time wanted to establish a municipality, but they found it difficult to separate the built-up section of what was then Bloom Township in such a way that it wouldn't leave the rest of the township with a population too small to support its own government.

So, in 1870, state Sen. Charles R. Buckalew, a Bloomsburg resident who would later become a U.S. senator, solved the problem by successfully securing a special act of incorporation . This act, which made the boundaries of the new municipality congruous to Bloom Township, created the establishment of towns as being distinct from cities and boroughs, the difference occurring in the structure of the governing body. Bloomsburg applied for and received this status, becoming the first and only town in the commonwealth."

From a government standpoint, this means that the entire council is elected "at large", rather than by individual wards.

In most of our local cities and boroughs, the council is made up of representatives from each "ward", or area. School boards also follow this rule - with school board members from each township. Even the library board I served on had board members specifically from each township. In all of these cases, there are frequently additional "at large" members, in addition to the representatives elected from each township. "At Large" members can live anywhere in the area - so there may be two or 3 representatives all who live in one township, but there will still be a representative for each of the other townships.

In Bloomsburg, all of the town council is "at large". They could all be next door neighbors, or they could all live in different areas - it does not matter.

Another difference, according to the 1992 article, is that the Mayor of Bloomsburg can vote on matters, and has a say, but he does not have veto power.

In other cities and boroughs, the mayors "tend to be more like figureheads, only voting in council when a tie-breaker vote is needed."

1935

"Bloomsburg's model of government is unique for the state, yet it has been modified since its conception in 1870. One of the uncommon provisions that was included in the town's original policy, according to Depo, was that each person in the town received as many votes as there were council members being elected, and these votes could be distributed in any way the voter wished. Therefore, if there were three council members running for election, which is the most possible in any given year, the voter would have three votes to distribute in any way he desired.

1923

For example, he could give one vote to three separate candidates, two votes to one candidate, and one to another, or all three votes to a single candidate. The complicated process for counting votes is what lead to it's abandonment in the late 1920s."

In 1945, the Governor signed special legislation allowing Bloomsburg to elect constables, after Bloomsburg authorities learned that there was no law providing for it under the town form of government.