Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
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Newtown is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,312 at the 2000 census. It is located just west of the Trenton, New Jersey metropolitan area, and is part of the larger Philadelphia metropolitan area.
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[edit] History
Newtown was founded by William Penn, in 1684. Newtown was one of several towns that Penn had organized around Philadelphia, PA to provide country homes for city residents, and to support farming communities.
[edit] Geography
Newtown is located at (40.228208, -74.932338)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.4 km² (0.6 mi²), all land.
The Newtown Creek, a tributary of the Neshaminy Creek, runs North to South and is the western boundary between the borough and the township of Newtown.
[edit] Transportation
State Street runs through Newtown's main commercial area and intersects with Washington Avenue at the borough's infrastructural center. Pennsylvania routes 532, 332, and 413 converge in and around Newtown. The Newtown Bypass surrounds the borough and runs between the borough's eastern edge and Interstate 95.
Newtown had a SEPTA regional-rail train station until February 1983. At that time, service was suspended because of a lack of ridership along the Newtown line. There has been talk of reinstating service because of recent strong population growth in the surrounding area; however, this has not materialized. There is also a movement under way to turn the abandoned rail line into a bike trail (see rails-to-trails) that has thus far been unsuccessful because of resistance in surrounding communities.
SEPTA now serves Newtown with bus route 130 (see SEPTA suburban division bus routes), which runs to nearby Bucks County Community College and Langhorne station.
Newtown township, which surrounds the borough, has a robust system of walking trails that lead to the borough in several places.
[edit] Education
Newtown is in the Council Rock School District. While the district serves many towns in Lower Bucks County, Newtown Township is home to Council Rock High School North, Council Rock High School South, Newtown Middle School (formerly Newtown Junior High), Goodnoe Elementary School, Newtown Elementary School, and the former Chancellor Street School, which now acts as the administrative building for the district. Private schools in the area include George School, Newtown Friends School, and St. Andrews Catholic School. The township is also the site of Bucks County Community College's main campus. La Salle University and Holy Family University also have satellite campuses on the Newtown Bypass.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 2,312 people, 920 households, and 595 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,623.0/km² (4,201.6/mi²). There were 936 housing units at an average density of 657.1/km² (1,701.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 96.93% White, 1.12% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.95% of the population.
There were 920 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95.
In the borough the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.0 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $63,571, and the median income for a family was $78,215. Males had a median income of $54,231 versus $37,283 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $33,500. About 0.7% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.5% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Trivia
- The Law School Admissions Council is headquartered there. As a result, most American lawyers have heard of Newtown.
- The movie Signs, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, was partially filmed in Newtown. Specifically, a scene was shot in the Newtown Book and Record Exchange, a small store on Newtown's scenic State Street. Another scene was shot in "Mom's", a small pizza parlor in the middle of town. The owner of the parlor reports that at least 1 group stops by every day to see the parlor because of the movie. The scene in the Army Recruiting Office was staged and shot in a then-empty retail storefront on the southeast corner of S. State Street and Penn Street.
[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
- Official borough website
