Municipality of Murrysville, Pennsylvania

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Municipality of Murrysville is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,872 at the 2000 census.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Government 3 Demographics and Details 4 Trivia 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Geography

Municipality of Murrysville is located at 40°26′5″N, 79°39′24″W (40.434828, -79.656724)^GR1. It is roughly 20 miles east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on U.S. Route 22, just east of the county line that separates Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 95.7 km² (36.9 mi²). 95.6 km² (36.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.03% is water.

[edit] Government

Murrysville is governed by a mayor, who is elected every two years and has administrative powers, and a seven member council, whose members are elected every four years and have legislative powers.^[1]

[edit] Demographics and Details

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 18,872 people, 7,083 households, and 5,630 families residing in the borough. The population density was 197.3/km² (511.0/mi²). There were 7,396 housing units at an average density of 77.3/km² (200.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 95.38% White, 0.61% African American, 0.05% Native American, 3.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population.

There were 7,083 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.8% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.5% were non-families. 18.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the borough the population was spread out with 24.9% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 30.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $64,071, and the median income for a family was $72,740. Males had a median income of $58,553 versus $32,567 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $32,017. About 2.2% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Part of Murrysville, particularly Route 22 (which runs through it) is at the Westmoreland County/Allegheny County border. The Parkway East, which is a major express route to Pittsburgh, begins less than a mile from the borough border. As a result, Murrysville has become a popular "bedroom community" for people who wish to live in the suburbs, but have a convenient commute to the city of Pittsburgh.

Murrysville and neighboring towns Delmont, Export, and White Valley are served by Franklin Regional School District. The Franklin Regional School District, named one of the top districts in all of Pennsylvania operates five schools: three elementary (Sloan, Heritage, Newlonsburg), the Franklin Regional Middle School, and the Franklin Regional High School.

[edit] Trivia

• Since 1933, Murrysville has had a "tree sign" spelling out the word "Murrysville". [1] The trees were landscaped to grow and form the letters by local Boy Scouts. The sign is situated on a large hill as one enters the borough from the Murrysville/Monroeville border, near U.S. Route 22. In 1947, the sign was featured in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" as the world's largest arboreal sign. (It is no longer the world's largest, or even the largest in the country; 'Luecke', for Luecke, Texas, is much larger. [2])

• The "Y" in the Murrysville sign points to the Haymaker Gas Well, which was at one time the largest commercial gas well in the world.

• In recent years the tree sign has suffered from neglect, and has become overgrown and difficult to read. The Sportsman and Landowners Alliance of Murrysville and other local groups are working to maintain and restore it. [3]

• Murrysville is home to Bobby Engram, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver and Ken Macha, former manager of the Oakland Athletics.

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.murrysville.com/muni_info.html

[edit] External links

• Murrysville's official website

• Murrysville Business Directory

• News articles about the Murrysville tree sign and efforts to restore it: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 16, 2006

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.434828° -79.656724°
  • 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