New Castle, Pennsylvania

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New Castle is a city in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; in 1910, the total population was 36,280; in 1920, 44,938; and in 1940, 47,638. The population was 26,309 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lawrence CountyGR6. It is the commercial centre of a fertile agricultural region. New Castle is a prime example of a Rust Belt city which has been forced to adapt to changing economic situations.

Contents

[edit] Early History

In 1798, civil engineer John Carlysle Stewart resurveyed lands which had been reserved for veterans of the Revolutionary War. He discovered that the original survey had neglected to stake out approximately 50 acres at the confluence of the Shenango River and the Neshannock Creek, at that time a part of Allegheny County. Claiming the land for himself, he laid out what was to become the town of New Castle. By 1849, the population had reached 1,000 and Lawrence County was created, named in honor of U.S. Navy Captain James Lawrence. Twenty years later New Castle was chartered as a city, at which time the population numbered about 6,000.

In 1849, a group of Old Order Amish by families from Mifflin County, Pennsylvania settled just north of New Castle in New Wilmington. Later migrations from Holmes County, Ohio made this Amish community one of the largest in Pennsylvania. Approximately 2,000 Amish live and work in the townships north of New Castle.

[edit] Industry

New Castle gradually became an industrial center, due in part to the construction in the early 1800's of a canal system. In the 1870's, the city became a major hub of the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad and by 1900 was one of the fastest growing cities in the country. At this time, New Castle boasted more than 60 tin plate mills. Steel and paper mills, foundries, blast furnaces, a bronze bushing factory, and car-construction plants contributed to the economy. The Shenango Pottery produced commercial china and created fine china for the White House, including dinnerware for President Dwight D. Eisenhower and President Lyndon B. Johnson.

[edit] Cultural Life

New Castle had two opera houses in the late 1800s. In 1903 the Warner Brothers (of Warner Bros. fame) opened their first film projection theatre, the Cascade. In 2005, a group of local investors re-opened the Cascade Center into a multi-purpose retail and entertainment facilty with a restaurant, movie theater and retail shoppes. With the help of Slippery Rock University, the Warner Film Festival was started in 2004. The neoclassic Scottish Rite Cathedral was built in 1924-26 for the Free Masons Lodge 433. The auditorium has a seating capacity of 3,240 and the stage was once the largest between New York and Chicago. The Pittsburgh Symphony performs regularly here.

The New Castle Playhouse, based in the former State Theater on the Southside, has provided live theatre to the area for over four decades. The Playhouse presents yearly a 26-week season to over 25,000 patrons.

The Hoyt Center of Fine Arts is a historic four building complex housing art galleries, classrooms, studios, collection of fine arts library, and meeting facilities.

[edit] Fireworks

In the late 1800's, several families of Italian fireworks artisans settled in New Castle. At one point over 100 fireworks companies were based in the area and Lawrence county was the world's largest producer of fireworks displays. Two companies of international stature remain in New Castle, the S.Vitale Pyrotechnic Industries, Inc. (Pyrotecnico) and Zambelli International. Rozzi's Famous Fireworks of Loveland, Ohio, also began operations in New Castle, before moving its headquarters to the Cincinnati area. The city calls itself the "Fireworks Capital of the World."

In 2006, Zambelli Park was opened in honor of the Zambelli family and the fireworks' tradition in the New Castle area. The park is located downtown across from the Cascade Center on Mill Street.

[edit] Geography

New Castle is located at 40°59′50″N, 80°20′40″W (40.997325, -80.344556)GR1, along the Shenango River at the mouth of Neshannock Creek.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.2 km² (8.6 mi²). 22.1 km² (8.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.47%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 26,309 people, 10,727 households, and 6,725 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,189.5/km² (3,082.0/mi²). There were 11,709 housing units at an average density of 529.4/km² (1,371.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 86.77% White, 10.79% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.76% of the population.

There were 10,727 households out of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 85.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,598, and the median income for a family was $32,539. For any European reading this, although this is a shockingly low wage, it is roughly average in America because of the way finance is distributed amongst American citizens. Males had a median income of $30,112 versus $20,754 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,730. About 17.1% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.8% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Noted New Castle High School Graduates

Louise Treadwell, 1914
Actress; married to actor Spencer Tracy; founded John Tracy Clinic for Deaf and Hearing Impaired Students; received Sixth Annual Award of the Save the Children Foundation in 1955; member, President’s Task Force on the Physically Handicapped

James K. Pollock Jr.,1916
Professor of political science, University of Michigan; Medal of Merit recipient, U.S. government’s highest civilian award; served on Hoover Commission; vice chairman, Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations; named Pennsylvania Ambassador in 1952

Dr. Thomas Francis, Jr., 1917
Designed and led the field trial for the polio vaccine; mentor of Dr. Jonas Salk; leading authority on influenza

Edmond Hamilton, 1919
Prolific science-fiction writer, also wrote under pen names Alexander Blade, Robert Castle, Hugh Davidson and Robert Wentworth; married to famous science-fiction writer, Leigh Brackett; writer, D.C. comics “Superman” and “Batman” series; graduated at age 15; Jules Verne Award winner

Harold V. Cohen, 1922
Dean of Pittsburgh theater critics; reviewer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Dr. Wilbur E. Flannery, 1924
First physician to use penicillin in New Castle; president, Pennsylvania Medical Society; chairman of the board, Pennsylvania Blue Shield Corp.; founder and president, International Academy of Hospice Physicians; author; Jack Butz Humanitarian Award recipient

Mary Margaret Long Mullen, 1924
Philanthropist; donated $50,000 to Lawrence County Youth, Inc., $25,000 to the Children’s Advocacy Center, $25,000 to the Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County, $50,000 to the Community Y, $25,000 to First Methodist, $25,000 to the Sankey Youth Center, $50,000 to United Way of Lawrence County and in excess of $350,000 to create scholarships for New Castle graduates in the name of her favorite teacher, Nora W. Long

Charles A. Shepp Jr., 1929
Philanthropist and community leader; estimated that he donated more than $750,000 to causes; noted for involvement with the American Red Cross, the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts of America, Easter Seals, City Rescue Mission, the Pennsylvania Society for Crippled Children, the Pennsylvania Association for Retarded Citizens, the Salvation Army, Riverside Apartments, Lark Enterprises, I Care House, Lawrence County Historical Society and the Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County; co-chairman, Old-Timers Day; president emeritus and former president, Lawrence County Building Trades

Thomas Phillips Johnson, 1930
Attorney; co-founder of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Pittsburgh’s largest law firm; former co-owner and vice president, Pittsburgh Pirates; editor, Harvard Law Review; assistant to the secretary of the Navy; president, Lawrence Savings and Trust Co.; donated $750,000 to Rollins College

Jack Cole, 1933
Cartoonist, created “Plastic Man” character; works appeared in “Boy’s Life,” “Colliers,” “The Saturday Evening Post” and “Playboy”; started comic strip “Betsy and Me”

Rear Adm. George R. Muse, 1933
Served in three wars; graduate, U.S. Naval Academy

Robert Sterling, 1935
Actor in television and films from 1939 to 1979; best-known for lead role in the sitcom fantasy "Topper" in the 1950's.

Brig. Gen. William C. Chip, 1937
Quartermaster general, Marine Corps; 30-year military career that covered three wars; graduate, U.S. Naval Academy

Forrest Raffel, 1939
Co-founder, Arby’s

Lindy Lauro, 1940
Professional football player, the NFL’s Chicago Cardinals and Eastern Football League’s Jersey City Giants; New Castle head football coach, record of 220-103-15; he coached six undefeated teams, won three WPIAL championships and 10 Midwestern Athletic Conference titles; inducted into Pennsylvania Scholastic Coaches Hall of Fame and the Lawrence County Historical Society Sports Hall of Fame

Alexander Stavas, 1940
Clerk, U.S. Supreme Court, 1981 to 1985

George Zambelli, 1942
President, general manager of Zambelli Internationale Fireworks Manufacturing Co.; known as “Mr. Fireworks”; Silver Buffalo Award recipient, 2003

Tony Razzano, 1943
Football player, University of Pittsburgh; scout, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers; director of college scouting, San Francisco 49ers; helped form World Football League; sports agent

Bill McPeak, 1944
Professional football player, Pittsburgh Steelers (All-Pro); assistant coach, Steelers; head coach, Washington Redskins; offensive coach, 1972 Miami Dolphins, which posted the league’s only unbeaten mark through regular and post-season play; director of scouting, New England Patriots

Philomena Sparano Jurey, 1945
White House correspondent and division editor-in-chief, Voice of America; author, “A Basement Seat to History” and “Bella Giornata and Elbow Grease”

Rear Adm. Lewis E. “Red” Angelo, 1947
Director, Medical Service Corps; director, Naval Medical Command

Dr. Nancy Lamancusa, 1948
Family practice physician for 42 years; delivered more than 500 babies in New Castle hospitals; past president, Lawrence County Medical Society; charter member, Visiting Nurses Association of Lawrence County; Outstanding Young Woman of America, 1964

Arden L. Bement Jr., 1949
Director, U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology; David A. Ross Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering; head, School of Nuclear Engineering, Purdue University; member, the U.S. National Science Board

Rear Adm. James E. Eckelberger, 1956
Director of supply operations, Defense Logistics Agency

Dr. Gerry DeCarbo Angel, 1957
One of the first registered nurses to enter private practice in the 1970s; faculty, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing; author, “The New Assertive Nurse”; mental health nurse specialist; consumer advocate, long-term care insurance and Medicare health insurance

Thomas L. “Tim” Foster, 1959
Oversaw business aspects of U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, served 31 years in the program; Adm. Hyman G. Rickover’s point man on public issues; assisted Columbia Accident Investigation Board, which investigated loss of space shuttle Columbia; founder and president, TAF Inc.

Dr. Jack Failla, 1960
Orthopedic surgeon; team surgeon, Pittsburgh Pirates; flight surgeon, Navy; founding partner, the Tri-State Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Clinic; associate clinical instructor in orthopedic surgery, University of Pittsburgh’s school of medicine

Paul Martin-Maki, 1960
Faculty, Manhattan School of Music; world-renowned organist; director of music, St. John Episcopal Church, Larchmont, N.Y.

Susan Levine Wittenberg Liebeler, 1960
Chair, U.S. International Trade Commission; professor of law, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles; founder, Lexpert, Malibu, Calif., consulting firm

Israel L. Gaither, 1962
National commander, Salvation Army; first African-American to serve as the Salvation Army’s chief of the staff; served in following roles with the Salvation Army: divisional commander, field secretary/secretary for personnel, chief secretary, territorial commander and chief of the staff; honored for global leadership and ministry

Dr. Louis A. Zona, 1962
Executive director, chief curator of The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown; two-time recipient, YSU Distinguished Professor Awards; Gari Melchers Medal, 1996, Artist’s Fellowship of New York City; author

Judith Mayne, 1966
Distinguished Humanities Professor, French and Women's Studies, Ohio State University; author of eight books on French cinema and feminist film studies

Dr. Dennis Slamon, 1966
Cancer researcher, University of California at Los Angeles; director, Revlon/UCLA Women’s Cancer Research Program; Dorothy P. Landon American Association for Cancer Research Award winner; developed breast cancer drug Herceptin; UCSD-Salk Institute Translational Medicine Award winner Mark Mangino, 1974 Head Football Coach, University of Kansas. Offensive Coordinator, Oklahoma University, 2000 College Football National Champions. Winner, 2000 Frank Broyles Award, Top Assistant Coach in Major College Football. Has Coached in 11 Bowl Games. Ludwig Picarro, 1975
Senior vice president, Zurich American Insurance Group Note: Killed in Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center’s twin towers

David A. Croach, 1966
Co-funded the budget for the original PC Video Game "DOOM." Went overseas to help with the programming phase of the game "Actraiser," published by Enix.

Bruce Clark, 1976
College football, Penn State; two-time All-American defensive tackle; NFL, Green Bay Packers (first-round draft pick, 1980) and New Orleans Saints; Arena Football, Detroit Drive

Scott Lawton, 1978
Orchestra conductor; Conductor of the German Film Orchestra in Berlin, Germany's leading orchestra for recording and performing film music; frequent collaborator with artists such as the Scorpions, José Carreras and Buena Vista Social Club; music director of summer festival in Gandersheim, Germany

Leslie Sansone, 1979
Fitness expert; developed "In-Home Walking" and "Walk Away the Pounds" video series; author; contributing editor, Woman's Day Magazine

Sanjeev Malaney, 1977, exchange student
Founder and chief executive officer of MediaTel corporation, one of the world’s leading providers of electronic document delivery services; co-founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Capsilon, a California-based technology company.

Dr. Thomas L. McDevitt, 1980
Holder of 28 patents and author of 15 technical papers in semiconductor processing technology; honored twice with Outstanding Technical Achievements award, IBM

Bryan Pezzone, 1980
Pianist and recording artist; performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Players, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Long Beach Symphony, the University of California Irvine Orchestra, the Pacific Symphony, the International Orchestra of USIU in San Diego and the Eastman Philharmonic; created new works and transcriptions for the Yamaha MIDI Grand Piano; contributing editor, “Piano and Keyboard”

[edit] Other noted residents

  • Garth Edmundson (Apr. 11, 1892 to Apr., 1971). Composer/director/teacher of music. Garth was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and resided in New Castle, PA, until his death. He was educated at the Leipzig Conservatory, and studied with Harvey Gaul, Lynnwood Farnam, Joseph Bonnet, and Isidor Phillipp. His working life was as an organist, teacher and director of music in several churches and schools in western Pennsylvania.
  • Michael Saraka, (2003 - present). Director of Alumni Relations, Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Former Director of Career Services, Saint Francis University
  • Ursula Payne, Professor, Slippery Rock University, Artistic Director of Soul Deep Creations; received two choreographic fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts in 2000 and 2002; her solo choreography has been presented nationally and internationally in venues such as Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Jacob's Pillow Inside Out series, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Joyce SoHo, The Dance Place, Veracruz, Mexico, Monaco Danses Dances Forum, Monte Carlo; her ensemble work has been commissioned for the National Taiwan University Dance Festival in Taipei, Taiwan; has danced with Dianne McIntyre at BAM, Nati0nal Black Arts Festival in ATL, and in the film "The Beloved"; was Co-Artistic Director of Mills and Payne Dance based in New York 1995-2000; has taught/performed as a guest artist at schools throughout the United States and abroad; awarded several SRU university research and travel grants; Tenured, Associated Professor of Dance at Slippery Rock University; received MFA Ohio State University 1995 with an emphasis in Direction fro the Labanotation score and Performance; received CMA certification from the Laban Institute of Movement Studies, NY 1997. Inspiration for Payne's choreographic and performance explorations come from her studies in Laban Movement Analysis/Bartenieff Fundamentals, Movement Science, dance notation, women's studies, spirituality and previous experiences with the late Dr. Pearl Primus and Dianne McIntyre. Faculty at ADF 2002.

[edit] References

    1. ^ [1969] (1979) Reichler, Joseph L.: The Baseball Encyclopedia, 4th edition, New York: Macmillan Publishing. ISBN 0-02-578970-8.

[edit] External links


Municipalities and Communities of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania
(County Seat: New Castle)
Cities New Castle
Boroughs Bessemer | Ellport | Ellwood City | Enon Valley | New Beaver | New Wilmington | S.N.P.J. | South New Castle | Volant | Wampum
Townships Hickory | Little Beaver | Mahoning | Neshannock | North Beaver | Perry | Plain Grove | Pulaski | Scott | Shenango | Slippery Rock | Taylor | Union | Washington | Wayne | Wilmington
Communities and CDPs New Castle Northwest | Oakland | Oakwood
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