North Wales, Pennsylvania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
North Wales is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is one of the three historic population centers that make up the North Penn Valley. The population was 3,342 at the 2000 census.
Like many small boroughs in Pennsylvania, North Wales is at "build out," meaning that its boundaries have not kept up with population growth. Summarily, many businesses and residences with North Wales addresses are located in outlying townships that were never annexed by the borough. North Wales is in the North Penn School District.
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[edit] Geography
North Wales is located at (40.210703, -75.274994)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²), all land.
[edit] History
As its name suggests, North Wales was settled by Welsh immigrants who named it after North Wales in the UK. (For more on Welsh settlements in colonial Pennsylvania, see "Welsh Tract.") It began as a pastoral village in agricultural Gwynedd Township.
Its rural character was abruptly disrupted by the building of the North Pennsylvania Railroad starting in 1852. Service from Bethlehem to Philadelphia through North Wales began in 1857. The town quickly grew around the railroad station, with hotels and restaurants lining Walnut Street and Main Street within walking distance. North Wales was incorporated as a borough in 1869, taking land from today's Upper Gwynedd Township, then the northern portion of Gwynedd Township.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, much of North Wales borough's housing stock was built. Most houses in the borough remain today rowhouses, twins, and modest detached homes.
Between 1900 and 1926, Lehigh Valley Transit operated its Chestnut Hill Branch trolley line, which connected North Wales to surrounding towns through service to either Philadelphia or Norristown. The trolley ran down Main Street through the borough, but detoured onto Pennsylvania Avenue to enable it to cross the North Penn Railroad tracks rather than being stopped at the grade-crossing while the train passed.
Although trolley service ended and trackage has been removed, rail service to North Wales is currently served by SEPTA. Many North Wales residents commute to Center City, Philadelphia by the R5 train.
North Wales' Main Street, although a shadow of its former glory, still serves the community by providing basic services such as pizza parlors (one a Papa John's franchise and Tony's Pizza), a bank, a pharmacy, a running specialty store, doctors offices, cafes, a dry cleaner, a furniture restoration store, and other commercial shops.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 3,342 people, 1,299 households, and 869 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,263.8/km² (5,848.7/mi²). There were 1,330 housing units at an average density of 900.9/km² (2,327.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 90.31% White, 4.82% African American, 0.06% Native American, 2.09% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 0.78% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population.
There were 1,299 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the borough the population was spread out with 26.8% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $54,605, and the median income for a family was $63,235. Males had a median income of $41,265 versus $33,045 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $26,590. About 3.2% of families and 4.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.0% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Politics and government
North Wales has a city manager form of government with a mayor and a nine-member borough council. The mayor is Doug Ross.
The borough is part of the Thirteenth Congressional District (represented by Rep. Allyson Schwartz), the 61st State House District (represen ted by Rep. Kate Harper) and the 12th State Senate District (represented by Sen. Stewart Greenleaf).
[edit] Fun Facts
- The borough has recently been a focal point for the issue of safe housing for elderly residents[citation needed].
- "Captain Janks," a member of The Wack Pack on the Howard Stern Show, resides in North Wales and works at a local gas station.
- John Oates, of the famous rock duo Hall & Oates, grew up in North Wales.
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Borough Website
- Looking for North Wales in the UK?
